The number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive osteoclasts on neonatal mouse parietal bones is decreased when prostaglandin synthesis is inhibited and increased in response to prostaglandin E2, parathyroid hormone, and 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3.

The culture of parietal bones from 4-day old mice in indomethacin (Ind) for 1 day caused a large reduction in the number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase positive osteoclasts (TRAP + OC) relative to both control bones and to freshly isolated bones. This reduction did not occur if prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was present. When 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BDU) was injected into 4-day old mice, newly formed TRAP + OC nuclei became labeled 1 day later; these bones were then cultured with Ind for 1 day. TRAP + OC and newly labeled TRAP+OC nuclei were commensurately decreased in number. This suggests an active down-regulation rather than merely the inhibition of new TRAP+OC formation. Incubation of bones with Ind and either PGE2, parathyroid hormone, or 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 for 6 hours following a 1-day preincubation in Ind, resulted in an increase in TRAP + OC compared with Ind alone. Using BDU labeling in vitro and in vivo, we show that this increase in number of TRAP+OC is not the result of cell proliferation, but rather differentiation of postmitotic precursors.