Lack of effect of adenosine on the function of rodent osteoblasts and osteoclasts in vitro

Extracellular ATP, signalling through P2 receptors, exerts well-documented effects on bone cells, inhibiting mineral deposition by osteoblasts and stimulating the formation and resorptive activity of osteoclasts. The aims of this study were to determine the potential osteotropic effects of adenosine, the hydrolysis product of ATP, on primary bone cells in vitro. We determined the effect of exogenous adenosine on (1) the growth, alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) activity and bone-forming ability of osteoblasts derived from the calvariae of neonatal rats and mice and the marrow of juvenile rats and (2) the formation and resorptive activity of osteoclasts from juvenile mouse marrow. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed marked differences in the expression of P1 receptors in osteoblasts from different sources. Whilst mRNA for the A1 and A2B receptors was expressed by all primary osteoblasts, A2A receptor expression was limited to rat bone marrow and mouse calvarial osteoblasts and the A3 receptor to rat bone marrow osteoblasts. We found that adenosine had no detectable effects on cell growth, TNAP activity or bone formation by rodent osteoblasts in vitro. The analogue 2-chloroadenosine, which is hydrolysed more slowly than adenosine, had no effects on rat or mouse calvarial osteoblasts but increased TNAP activity and bone formation by rat bone marrow osteoblasts by 30–50 % at a concentration of 1 μM. Osteoclasts were found to express the A2A, A2B and A3 receptors; however, neither adenosine (≤100 μM) nor 2-chloroadenosine (≤10 μM) had any effect on the formation or resorptive activity of mouse osteoclasts in vitro. These results suggest that adenosine, unlike ATP, is not a major signalling molecule in the bone.