Mineral content of the maternal diet influences ectopic mineralization in offspring of Abcc6-/- mice

Ectopic mineralization disorders inflicting the connective tissues display a spectrum of severity, some developing in utero and being diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the mineral content of maternal diet can influence the mineralization in the offspring. Pregnant Abcc6(-/-) mice, on 2 different strain backgrounds, were maintained either on normal rodent diet or on acceleration diet, rich in phosphate and low in magnesium, which has been previously shown to enhance the mineralization processes. The offspring were examined for mineralization by histopathology of various tissues and quantitated by chemical assay of calcium. The ectopic mineralization in the dermal sheath of vibrissae, a progressive biomarker of the overall mineralization, was readily detectable at the age of 4weeks in the pups whose mothers were on the acceleration diet, while no evidence of mineralization was noted in those on normal diet. The mineralization of the vibrissae progressively increased when examined at 12weeks of age. There was a significant reduction in urinary calcium and significant increase in urinary phosphorus concentrations both at 4 and 12weeks of age in mice on the acceleration diet as compared to those on control diet. The results demonstrate that the mineral content of the maternal diet can influence ectopic mineralization in the offspring of mice genetically predisposed to ectopic mineralization (Abcc6(-/-)). These observations have implications for dietary management of pregnancies in which the fetus is diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound to have an ectopic mineralization disorder.