Acid phosphatase activity is detected preferentially in the osteoclastic lineage by pre-treatment with cyanuric chloride.

We previously reported a simple method to detect osteoid matrices in decalcified bone sections by pre-treatment with cyanuric chloride. We have applied this technique to identify osteoclasts and their precursors in rats. In JB-4 sections prepared from untreated bone tissues with cyanuric chloride, both acid phosphatase (ACP) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) were found not only in osteoclasts and bone marrow mononuclear cells but also in osteoblasts. In contrast, treatment of bones with cyanuric chloride resulted in staining ACP preferentially in osteoclasts and mononuclear cells adjacent to the bone surface. In the osteoclasts and most of the ACP-positive mononuclear cells, autoradiography showed calcitonin binding. Decalcification with EDTA did not affect the staining for ACP activity in bones treated with cyanuric chloride. It was possible to simultaneously identify ACP and osteoid matrix in a decalcified section. In soft tissues without treatment with cyanuric chloride, both ACP and TRAP were detected in splenic macrophages, alveolar macrophages, and proximal convoluted ducts in kidney. Neither ACP nor TRAP was found in these cell types in the tissues treated with cyanuric chloride. This procedure provides a new, simple method to identify a more restricted population in the osteoclastic lineage than that detected by TRAP staining.