Mice lacking the proto-oncogene c-fos develop the bone disease osteopetrosis. Fos mutant mice were found to have a block in the differentiation of bone-resorbing osteoclasts that was intrinsic to hematopoietic cells. Bone marrow transplantation rescued the osteopetrosis, and ectopic c-fos expression overcame this differentiation block. The lack of Fos also caused a lineage shift between osteoclasts and macrophages that resulted in increased numbers of bone marrow macrophages. These results identify Fos as a key regulator of osteoclast-macrophage lineage determination in vivo and provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic bone diseases.

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Two diphosphonates containing the P-C-P bond, Cl(2)C(PO(3)HNa)(2), and H(2)C(PO(3)HNa)(2) retard the rate of dissolution of apatite crystals in vitro. They inhibit bone resorption induced by parathyroid extract in mouse calvaria in tissue culture and in thyroparathyroidectomized rats in vivo.

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