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Figure 1. RGD peptide and echistatin released from ELVAX disrupt osteoclasts on coverslips or bone slices. Mouse marrow osteoclasts were grown to maturity, loaded on slices of sperm whale dentin, and cultured for 2 days to allow the osteoclasts to adhere and become active. The osteoclasts were then left untreated (A), treated with ELVAX alone (B), or with ELVAX loaded with echistatin (C) or RGD peptide (D). After 90 min, the cells were fixed with 2% formaldehyde in PBS, permeabilized with 0.5% Triton X-100 in PBS, and stained with fluorescein-tagged phalloidin. Representative cells from the various treatment conditions are shown. Arrows point to the edges of the respective cells. The cell in each pane is approximately the same size, and all were photographed at the same magnification. The dramatic difference in appearance is the result of disruption of actin rings resulting from RGD-peptide and echistatin treatment. The bar is 5 µm. "I" shows quantitative analysis of the number of osteoclasts with actin rings on dentin slices after 90 min. The data represent mean ± SD of 4 experiments.
