Osteoclast induction from bone marrow cells is due to pro-inflammatory mediators from macrophages exposed to polyethylene particles: a possible mechanism of osteolysis in failed THA.

Polyethylene debris from joint replacements may be transported in synovial fluid and be phagocytosed by macrophages. The activation and migration of macrophages may play important roles in osteolysis and implant loosening. Tissues from the bone-implant interface do not always contain wear debris, which may mean that osteolysis may not require direct contact with wear debris. We hypothesized that the release of polyethylene debris from the implants induces macrophage activation in the joint space. Then the activated macrophages release humoral factors, such as inflammatory cytokines, into the joint fluid. These cytokines may be transported to the bone marrow tissues around the implants where they stimulate the differentiation of the bone marrow cells into osteoclasts. Finally, the activated osteoclasts resorb the surrounding bone. To test this hypothesis, macrophages were stimulated by polyethylene particles. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and were increased significantly. To test humoral interaction between macrophages and bone-marrow cells, a co-culture system was used in an in vitro model. With this system, two kinds of cells can be cultured together with humoral contact without the two cell types having to contact each other. We stimulated the macrophages with 5 microm of polyethylene particles and observed whether the bone marrow cells differentiated into the osteoclasts without contact with the macrophages. The numbers of osteoclasts were assessed using tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. The numbers of TRAP-positive cells in the polyethylene particle-stimulated group were higher than in the control group. The ability of the TRAP-positive cells to resorb bone was confirmed by dentine pit formation assay. The results of this study support our hypothesis and suggest that one mechanism of osteolysis in failed joint arthroplasty is the more distant effects of pro-inflammatory cytokine release on osteoclast differentiation and/or activity. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 56: 177-183, 2001