Osteoclasts are multinucleated cells essential for bone-resorption. Successful repair of bone defciencies still remains a great challenge worldwide. The signaling factor angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2), one of eight ANGPTL proteins, functions in maintenance of tissue homeostasis partly through regulating inflammation. In the study, ANGPTL2 expression was promoted during osteoclast development and that suppressing ANGPTL2 alleviated osteoclast production regulated by macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of NF-kappa B ligand (RANKL). The results suggested that ANGPTL2 knockdown inhibited M-CSF-caused proliferation of osteoclast precursor cells. Further, ANGPTL2 silence reduced nuclear factor of activated T cell c 1 (NFATCI) and NFATC4 expressions in M-CSF-treated cells, along with decreased Runx2, OPN and Collal. Moreover, silencing ANGPTL2 down-regulated M-CSFpromoted expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, and chemoattractant protein-1 (CCL-2). Consistently, ANGPTL2 knockdown reduced M-CSF-enhanced activation of IKK alpha, I kappa B alpha and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) (p38 MAPK, ERK1/2 MAPK and JNK MAPK). Additionally, knockdown of ANGPTL2 inhibited the induction of Cyclin D1, Cyclin D2 and Cyclin El due to M-CSF exposure. In vivo, we confirmed that ANGPTL2 knockout (KO) mice were protected against osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy (OVX), as proved by the improved bone loss and bone mineral density (BMD). Decreased expression of NFATCs was also observed in OVX-induced mice in the absence of ANGPTL2. Elevated release of pro-inflammatory cytokines was abrogated by ANGPTL2 knockout in femoral heads of mice with OVX operation, accompanied with a significant reduction of phosphorylated NF-kappa B and MAPKs signaling pathways. And down-regulated expression of Cyclin Dl, Cyclin D2 and Cyclin El was observed in OVX-operated mice with ANGPTL2 knockout. Therefore, our study indicated that ANGPTL2 played an essential role in osteoclast generation through regulating the proliferation and inflammation of osteoclast lineage cells, providing new insights into the therapeutic strategy to alleviate bone loss. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Inc.