Research Article

Muramyl Dipeptide Enhances Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Osteoclast Formation and Bone Resorption through Increased RANKL Expression in Stromal Cells

Figure 1

Effects of muramyl dipeptide (MDP) on lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced osteoclast formation in vivo. (a) Histological sections of sutures of calvariae were obtained from mice after 5 days of daily supracalvarial injections of one of the following: PBS (A), 10 μg/day LPS (B), 100 μg/day MDP (C), 100 μg/day LPS (D), or 10 μg/day LPS + 100 μg/day MDP (E). Sections were stained with tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining and counterstained with hematoxylin. Cells that stained red are considered to be TRAP-positive. Scale bars = 50 μm. (b) The number of TRAP-positive cells with three or more nuclei in the calvariae (; ). (c) Histological sections of calvariae were obtained from mice after 5 days of daily supracalvarial injections of one of the following: PBS (A), 10 μg/day LPS (B), 100 μg/day MDP (C), 100 μg/day LPS (D), or 10 μg/day LPS + 100 μg/day MDP (E). Scale bars = 100 μm. (d) The percentage of bone/marrow interface covered by osteoclasts was histomorphometrically determined in specimens (; ). (e) TRAP and cathepsin K mRNA levels in mouse calvariae detected using real-time RT-PCR. Total RNA from mouse calvariae was isolated after 5 days of daily supracalvarial injections of PBS, LPS (10 μg/day), MDP (100 μg/day), LPS (100 μg/day), or LPS (10 μg/day) + MDP (100 μg/day). mRNA levels for TRAP and cathepsin K were normalized to GAPDH. Results are expressed as the mean ± SD (; ; ). Differences were determined using Scheffe’s test.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)