Regulation of bone mass at unloaded condition by osteocyte network

We searched for the molecules responsible for disuse osteoporosis using BCL2 transgenic mice. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isozymes (Pdk1, Pdk2, Pdk3, and Pdk4) are negative regulators of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC), which converts pyruvate to acetyl-CoA in the mitochondria, linking glycolysis to the energetic and anabolic functions of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Pdk4 was upregulated in femurs and tibiae of wild-type mice but not of BCL2 transgenic mice after tail suspension. Bone in Pdk4-/- mice developed normally and was maintained. At unloading, however, bone mass was reduced due to enhanced osteoclastogenesis and Rankl expression in wild-type mice but not in Pdk4-/- mice. Osteoclast differentiation of Pdk4-/- bone marrow-derived monocyte/macrophage lineage cells (BMMs) in the presence of M-CSF and RANKL was suppressed, and osteoclastogenesis was impaired in the coculture of wild-type BMMs and Pdk4-/- osteoblasts, in which Rankl expression and promoter activity were reduced. Further, introduction of Pdk4 into Pdk4-/- BMMs and osteoblasts enhanced osteoclastogenesis and Rankl expression and activated Rankl promoter. These findings indicate that upregulation of Pdk4 expression in osteoblasts and bone marrow cells after unloading is, at least in part, responsible for the enhancement of osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption after unloading [1].