Multinucleated cells elicited in response to implants of devitalized bone particles possess receptors for calcitonin

The introduction into soft tissues of particulate materials resistant to digestion results in the induction of a "foreign-body giant-cell reaction." We have examined the relation between osteoclasts and foreign-body giant cells by comparing the tissue responses elicited by subcutaneous implants of devitalized, mineral-containing bone particles (BP), nonresorbable plastics such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), or both. Implantation of BP results in the recruitment of multinucleated cells with features of in osso osteoclasts including tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity, contact-mediated resorption of BP, membrane specializations (ruffled borders and clear zones), and inhibition of resorption by calcitonin treatment of animals. In the present study, an autoradiographic technique employing 125I-salmon calcitonin was used to demonstrate the presence of receptors for this hormone on multinucleated cells from BP implants. In contrast, outgrowth cells from PMMA implants lacked calcitonin receptors. Demonstration of features of the osteoclastic phenotype in multinucleated cells elicited in response to BP supports the hypothesis that the mineralized matrix of bone may be a requirement for acquisition of the osteoclast phenotype.