Solubilization of mineralized bone by osteoclasts is largely dependent on the acidification of the extracellular resorption lacuna driven by the vacuolar (H؉)-ATPases (V-ATPases)polarized within the ruffled border membranes. V-ATPases consist of two functionally and structurally distinct domains, V 1 and V 0 . The peripheral cytoplasmically oriented V 1 domain drives ATP hydrolysis, which necessitates the translocation of protons across the integral membrane bound V 0 domain. Here, we demonstrate that an accessory subunit, Ac45, interacts with the V 0 domain and contributes to the vacuolar type proton pump-mediated function in osteoclasts. Consistent with its role in intracellular acidification, Ac45 was found to be localized to the ruffled border region of polarized resorbing osteoclasts and enriched in pH-dependent endosomal compartments that polarized to the ruffled border region of actively resorbing osteoclasts. Interestingly, truncation of the 26-amino acid residue cytoplasmic tail of Ac45, which encodes an autonomous internalization signal, was found to impair bone resorption in vitro. Furthermore, biochemical analysis revealed that although both wild type Ac45 and mutant were capable of associating with subunits a3, c, c؆, and d, deletion of the cytoplasmic tail altered its binding proximity with a3, c؆, and d. In all, our data suggest that the cytoplasmic terminus of Ac45 contains elements necessary for its proper interaction with V 0 domain and efficient osteoclastic bone resorption.Osteoclasts are terminally differentiated multinucleated cells derived from the hematopoietic lineage that specialize in the solubilization of mineralized bone material (1). Upon attachment to the bone surface, the osteoclast undergoes a series of cytoskeletal reorganization and polarization events that culminate in the formation of a unique apical membrane known as the ruffled border. The ruffled border is the "resorptive organelle" of the osteoclast and is formed by the polarized targeting and fusion of acidified intracellular vesicles with the plasma membrane (2-4). These transport vesicles courier acidifying machineries as well as osteolytic enzymes such as, TRACP, cathepsin K, and matrix metalloproteinases (2, 5-7) to the ruffled border membrane domain where each cargo plays a discrete role in the resorptive function. Vacuolar H ϩ -adenosine triphosphatases (V-ATPases) 5 that line the ruffled border have long been established to play a vital role in the resorptive process. V-ATPases function to pump H ϩ into the underlying resorptive lacunae. This elevation in protons results in a highly acidified microenvironment that solubilizes the mineralized component of bone while providing optimal conditions for the degradation of the exposed organic phase by collagenolytic enzymes such cathepsin K (2, 7).The importance of V-ATPase in osteoclastic bone resorption is exemplified by studies employing specific inhibitors and gene knock-out strategies to impair V-ATPase functions (8 -11). Furthermore, mutations in the human TCIRG1 g...