Fig 1: PS receptors are cooperatively involved in the fusion of preosteoclasts.a BMDCs cultured in the presence of M-CSF/RANKL were treated with Abs (0.5 µg/ml) against each PS receptor, Ctrl IgG, or a mixture of all Abs against the PS receptors TIM4, BAI1, and STAB2, which was used to probe their synergistic effects. Normal rabbit and rat IgG were used as controls. Osteoclasts were stained for TRAP on day 6 of M-CSF/RANKL treatment. The size of each osteoclast was determined, and the number of nuclei was counted. b Nfatc1 and Acp5 mRNA levels were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR on day 6 after treatment M-CSF or M-CSF/RANKL. The data (mean ± SEM) were acquired from three independent experiments. #p < 0.01, compared with the Ctrl IgG-treated group; †p < 0.05, compared with the PS receptor Ab-treated group. Ab antibody. Ctrl control.