• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.317-324
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• 1996

Osteoclast has been known as a primary responsible cell for the bone resorption. The activation of osteoclast, therefore, may be the key event in the regulation of bone growth and remodeling. Various factors were reported to have influence on the resorbing activity of osteoclast in organ culture. Among those factors, transforming growth factor-$\beta$ (TGF-$\beta$) has been known to have a profound effect on bone metabolism. Since a large amount of TGF-$\beta$ presents in bone tissue, it may be important for the understanding the regulatory mechanism of bone resorption to elucidate the effect of TGF-$\beta$ on the osteoclast. We have reported the dlsaggregated chick embryonic osteoclast culture as an useful assay method for determining the resorption activity of osteoclast. In this culture, we found that TGF-$\beta$ significantly enhaced the osteoclastic bone resorption activity. We also found that the timulatory effect seemed to be an indirect one that is mediated by other cells. As nordihydroguaiaretic acid significantly inhibited the TGF-$\beta$1-induced osteoclastic bone resorption, we suggest that the lipoxygenase derivative of arachidonic acid may participate in the action of TGF-$\beta$ as a paracrine or an autocrine mediator.