Pagetic osteoclasts formed in vitro: Absence of paracrystalline inclusions

In Pager's disease of bone, osteoclasts are increased in number and size and contain intracellular paramyxoviral-like inclusions which cross-react with antibody against measles, respiratory syncytial, and canine distemper viral nucleocapsid antigens. Moreover, measles virus nucleocapsid transcripts are present in pagetic osteoclasts and their mononuclear precursors formed in vitro. The present study was undertaken to morphologically assess pagetic osteoclasts formed in culture; special attention has been directed towards the ultrastructural identification of nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions. Pagetic osteoclasts were produced in long-term cultures of non-adherent bone marrow mononuclear cells derived from involved bone of patients with Paget's disease. These cultured osteoclasts had many of the ultrastructural features of pagetic osteoclasts in vivo. Of interest, no viral-like inclusions were observed in either the multinucleated osteoclasts or mononuclear cell precursors in these cultures. These data suggest that other factors in the bone microenvironment are required for viral nucleocapsid formation in pagetic osteoclasts.