Active transport of amino acids into bone cells

Radiolabeled Amino Acid Uptake Assays in Primary Bone Cells and Bone Explants

Radiolabeled amino acid uptake assays are a highly sensitive method used to characterize the uptake of amino acids by cells or tissues in culture. This method is an excellent tool to quantify changes in amino acid consumption that are associated with states of cellular differentiation and/or disease. The methods presented here can be adapted to measure the transport of all amino acids and can be applied to cultured cells and bone explants.

Bone Cell Bioenergetics and Skeletal Energy Homeostasis

The rising incidence of metabolic diseases worldwide has prompted renewed interest in the study of intermediary metabolism and cellular bioenergetics. The application of modern biochemical methods for quantitating fuel substrate metabolism with advanced mouse genetic approaches has greatly increased understanding of the mechanisms that integrate energy metabolism in the whole organism. Examination of the intermediary metabolism of skeletal cells has been sparked by a series of unanticipated observations in genetically modified mice that suggest the existence of novel endocrine pathways through which bone cells communicate their energy status to other centers of metabolic control. The recognition of this expanded role of the skeleton has in turn led to new lines of inquiry directed at defining the fuel requirements and bioenergetic properties of bone cells. This article provides a comprehensive review of historical and contemporary studies on the metabolic properties of bone cells and the mechanisms that control energy substrate utilization and bioenergetics. Special attention is devoted to identifying gaps in our current understanding of this new area of skeletal biology that will require additional research to better define the physiological significance of skeletal cell bioenergetics in human health and disease.

Bone matrix turnover and balance in vitro. I. The effects of parathyroid hormone and thyrocalcitonin

Labeled proline from incubation media has been shown to be incorporated into living bone matrix collagen in vitro. Hydroxyproline is released from fresh bone slices in similar systems in a characteristic curve against time. This hydroxyproline is derived from three distinct sources, each of which may be separately quantitated. Part of the total represents passive solubilization of matrix collagen, part is derived from new synthesis of soluble collagen occurring in vitro, and the remainder is released by cell-mediated resorptive action. The latter two processes are linear with time up to 8 hr; the former decays to zero at about 2 hr. Consequently, rates of collagen synthesis and of new collagen deposition and resorption can be quantitated simultaneously in the same system. The ability to measure these parameters of bone collagen metabolism provides methods both for the accurate evaluation of organic matrix resorption in vitro and for the accurate measurement of rates of collagen synthesis and collagen deposition. The application of the method is illustrated using parathyroid hormone and thyrocalcitonin. Parathyroid hormone diminishes collagen synthesis and stimulates collagen resorption. It reduces slightly the deposition of newly formed collagen in stable matrix. The net effect of these changes is to produce a marked negative balance. It does not significantly affect the solubility of matrix collagen.Thyrocalcitonin does not affect collagen synthesis or its deposition. It causes a marked fall in resorption rate. It has no effect on matrix collagen solubility. The net effect is to produce a marked positive balance of matrix collagen.