Cell Death Discovery (Apr 2023)

Reduced osteoclast-derived apoptotic bodies in bone marrow characterizes the pathological progression of osteoporosis

  • Yutong Wu,
  • Hongbo Ai,
  • Yuhang Xi,
  • Pengbin Yin,
  • Ying Qu,
  • Jianzhong Xu,
  • Ce Dou,
  • Fei Luo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41420-023-01434-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Osteoporosis is associated with excessive activity of osteoclasts. In bone turn over, most osteoclasts undergo apoptosis after bone resorption and produce a large number of apoptotic bodies (ABs). However, the biological function of osteoclast-derived apoptotic bodies (OC-ABs) in the progression of osteoporosis is still unknow. In our study, we identified a reduction of OC-AB quantity in the bone marrow cavity during the progression of osteoporosis, an apoptotic body-deficient MRL/lpr mice were used to study the pro-osteogenic ability of OC-ABs. Mechanistically, OC-ABs promote osteogenesis of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) by activating the downstream mTOR pathway via RANKL-mediated reverse signaling. Moreover, systemic infusion of exogenous OC-ABs effectively delayed the bone loss in ovariectomized (OVX) mice, validated the role of OC-ABs as bone protective factor in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Taken together, our study elucidates the biological function of OC-ABs in the pathological progression of osteoporotic bone loss and suggests a potential therapeutic strategy to delay bone loss.