Prolonged and ubiquitous inhibition by interferon gamma of bone resorption induced by parathyroid hormone-related protein, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and interleukin 1 in fetal mouse forearm bones.

To investigate the mechanism of the inhibitory effects of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) on bone resorption, the effects of murine IFN-gamma on 45Ca release from prelabeled fetal mouse forearm bones were investigated. Murine IFN-gamma usually did not affect basal 45Ca release but almost completely and equipotently inhibited bone resorption induced by PTH(1-34), PTH-rP(1-34), 1,25(OH)2D3, and interleukin 1 (IL-1). The half-maximal concentration for inhibition of bone resorption induced by IL-1 alpha was 25.8 +/- 14.6 U/ml (mean +/- SD for 13 experiments), which is not different from those for PTH, PTH-rP, and 1,25(OH)2D3. There was no correlation between prostaglandin E2 concentration in the conditioned medium and 45Ca release from the IFN-gamma-treated forearm bones. The inhibitory effect of IFN-gamma on bone resorption induced by PTH-rP (1-34) or IL-1 alpha continued during 6 days of culture, whereas that of calcitonin disappeared after 2 days of culture. These findings suggest that IFN-gamma non-preferentially inhibits bone resorption induced by various bone-resorbing factors in fetal mouse forearm bones via a PGE2-independent mechanism. As no escape phenomenon developed in IFN-gamma-treated bones, the cytokine may be potentially useful for treatment of certain patients with malignancy-associated hypercalcemia.