Relationship between the number of resorbing cells and the amount resorbed in metabolic bone disorders

Abstract

The relationship between bone‐resorbing cells, assessed by the presence of tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatases (TRAP) and morphologic indices of bone resorption, was determined in 29 osteoporotic patients (14 postmenopausal females and 15 males) and 15 dialyzed patients. The number of TRAP‐positive cells per unit of cancellous bone area (N.Oc/B.Ar) was higher in dialyzed patients than in those with osteoporosis (16.8 (pminus) 15.3 versus 4.95 (pminus) 2.86, p < 0.05). The amount of bone resorbed at the basic multicellular unit level was estimated by calculating eroded area containing TRAP cells per bone area (E.Ar⁺/BA). This novel parameter was similar in dialyzed and in osteoporotic patients (41,700 (pminus) 28,400 versus 32,300 (pminus) 24,600). In contrast, trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp) was identical in both metabolic bone diseases. Trabecular width (169 (pminus) 38 versus 127 (pminus) 32 (mu)m, p < 0.05) and bone area were higher in dialyzed than in osteoporotic patients. N.Oc/B.Ar was significantly related to E.Ar⁺/BA in dialyzed (r = 0.76, p < 0.05) but not in osteoporotic patients. Tb.Sp was significantly correlated to N.Oc/B.Ar and to the number of TRAP‐positive cell nuclei per B.Ar (r = 0.44, p < 0.05) in osteoporotic but not in dialyzed patients. This last result shows that in overt osteoporosis with thin trabeculae, trabecular spacing is related to the number of resorbing cells. In contrast, the spacing of thick trabeculae in dialysis osteodystrophy is not dependent on the number of osteoclasts.