Cyclolinopeptide F, a cyclic peptide from flaxseed inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis via downergulation of RANK expression.

Previously, we reported that cyclolinopeptides (CLs) extracted from flaxseed inhibited receptor activator of nuclear factor κ-B ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis from mouse bone marrow cells in vitro. However, mode of action involved in CLs-inhibited osteoclastogenesis has been yet unknown. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the details of inhibitory activity of cyclolinopeptide-F (CL-F) in osteoclastogenesis, as a representative of CLs. CL-F dose-dependently inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis (IC₅₀ 0.58 µM) without cytotoxic effects. The inhibition by CL-F was mainly observed in macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)-induced proliferation/differentiation phase from M-CSF responsive immature myeloid cells to monocyte/macrophage (M/Mϕ) lineage. Additionally, CL-F also slightly inhibited RANKL-induced differentiation phase from M/Mϕ to mature osteoclasts. Expression of RANKL receptor, RANK, in M-CSF-induced M/Mϕ, i.e. osteoclast progenitor cells, was decreased by CL-F treatment. Furthermore, RT-PCR analysis revealed that CL-F inhibited c-fos gene expression, which is reported to be crucial for RANK expression in osteoclast progenitor cells induced with M-CSF from myeloid lineage cells. These results suggested that CL-F inhibits osteoclastogenesis via down regulation of c-fos expression, which leads to the down-regulation of RANK expression in M-CSF-induced osteoclast progenitors.