Short-term intermittent administration of parathyroid hormone facilitates osteogenesis by different mechanisms in cancellous and cortical bone

Intermittent administration of human parathyroid hormone (1-34)[hPTH(1-34)] induces anabolic action on the bones. To understand the mechanism underlying the early phase of hPTH(1-34)-induced anabolic action, we investigated the expression profiles of osterix and sclerostin after short-term intermittent administration of hPTH(1-34) using immunohistochemistry in adult rats. In the cancellous bone, hPTH(1-34) administration greatly increased the number of osterix-positive cells in the bone marrow on day 1, but the cells gradually decreased on days 3 and 5. Injections of hPTH(1-34) induced no significant changes in the number of sclerostin-positive osteocytes in the cancellous bone. In the cortical bone, intermittent administration of hPTH(1-34) significantly reduced the number of sclerostin-positive osteocytes. The serum sclerostin level was downregulated and the osteocalcin level was upregulated on day 5 after intermittent administration of hPTH(1-34). Intermittent hPTH(1-34) injections increased osteoblast surface, osteoid thickness, and osteoid surface in cancellous bone, but not in cortical bone. This study suggested that the increase in osterix-positive osteoprogenitors in cancellous bone and the decrease in sclerostin-positive osteocytes in cortical bone play important roles in anabolic action on osteogenesis induced by short-term administration of hPTH(1-34).