Phenotypic heterogeneity of osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells: Changes of bradykinin-induced prostaglandin E(2) production during osteoblast maturation

We have examined clonal murine calvarial MC3T3-E1 cells obtained from different sources to compare their osteoblastic features (alkaline phosphatase [ALP], cyclic adenosine monophosphate [cAMP] response to parathyroid hormone, prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and PGE(1), bradykinin-induced production of PGE(2)), It was found that the sublines investigated showed large variation of the above-mentioned parameters, which may be attributed to distinct differentiated stages of osteoblast development, Increase of ALP activity was paralleled by an increase in cAMP accumulation in response to the above-mentioned agents, The most striking difference was observed with bradykinin-induced production of PGE(2). Early stage cells (low ALP) produced high levels of PGE(2), whereas cells with high ALP activity showed no bradykinin stimulation at all, This,vas consistent with the results of specific binding of H-3-bradykinin to its receptor and also correlated well with the bradykinin-induced signal transduction sequence (inositol triphosphate liberation and elevation of intracellular calcium levels), This was confirmed by Northern blot analysis of bradykinin receptor mRNA expression, These results indicate that the widely used osteoblast-like cell line MC3T3-E1 is synonymous for multiple sublines, representing different stages of osteoblast development, These sublines were most likely emerging from the early stage cell line due to the applied culture conditions, Moreover, distinct biochemical features are displayed in correlation to the differentiation stage, thus providing a useful model to study the molecular mechanism of osteoblast maturation.