Trehalose suppresses osteoclast differentiation in ovariectomized mice: Correlation with decreased in vitro interleukin-6 production by bone marrow cells

Recently, we have shown that osteoclast differentiation in ovariectomized mice was inhibited by the administration of the disaccharide trehalose. In this study, an association between inhibition of osteoclast differentiation and cytokine secretion by bone marrow cells was examined. The secretion of the bone resorption associated cytokine, interleukin-6, by ovariectomized mouse bone marrow cells ex vivo has been known to be greater than that of sham-operated mice or ovariectomized mice receiving estradiol replacement therapy. Interestingly, we demonstrated that trehalose inhibited the secretion of interleukin-6 in the bone marrow cell cultures. This result indicates that trehalose may be an inhibitor of bone resorption through inhibition of osteoclast differentiation induced by secretion of interleukin-6 in the bone marrow.