Osteopetrosis is a heterogeneous group of bone diseases characterized by an excess accumulation of bone and a variety of immune defects, Osteopetrosis (op) and incisors absent (ia) are two nonallelic mutations in the rat which demonstrated these skeletal defects as a result of reduced bone resorption. Osteopetrotic (op) rats have severe sclerosis as a result of reduced numbers of osteoclasts which are structurally abnormal, The sclerosis in ia rats is not as severe as in op mutants; they have elevated numbers of osteoclasts, but they are also morphologically abnormal, lacking a ruffled border, Both of these mutations have defects in the inflammation-primed activation of macrophages, They demonstrate independent defects in the cascade involved in the conversion of vitamin D binding protein (DBP) to a potent macrophage activating factor (DBP-MAF), Because this factor may also play a role in the pathogenesis of osteoclastic dysfunction, the effects of ex vivo-generated DBP-MAF were evaluated on the skeletal system of these two mutations, Newborn ia and op rats and normal littermate controls were injected with DBP-MAF or vehicle once every 4 days from birth until 2 weeks of age, at which time bone samples were collected to evaluate a number of skeletal parameters, DBP-MAF treated op rats had an increased number of osteoclasts and the majority of them exhibited normal structure, There was also reduced bone volume in the treated op animals and an associated increased cellularity of the marrow spaces, The skeletal sclerosis was also corrected in the ia rats; the bone marrow cavity size was significantly enlarged and the majority of the osteoclasts appeared normal with extensive ruffled borders, Superoxide production was enhanced to normal levels in the osteoclasts from the treated ia animals as well, These studies demonstrate that the skeletal defects in both mutations can be improved with exogenous DBP-MAF and that this protein is involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.
