EFFECT OF 1-ALPHA-VITAMIN-D-3 ON BONE STRENGTH AND COMPOSITION IN GROWING RATS WITH AND WITHOUT CORTICOSTEROID TREATMENT

The effects of 1 alpha-vitamin D-3 were studied for 6 months in 2-month-old male and female rats on a moderately low calcium diet with or without low-dose prednisolone treatment. Both cortical bone mechanical and biochemical properties were examined. Femoral bone specimens were subjected to torsional loading tests. With age, bone strength and stiffness increased in both sexes, accompanied by an increased degree of mineralization (bone ash and calcium concentrations). During growth, strength and stiffness increased more in male than in female rats. When 1 alpha-vitamin D-3 (0.5 mu g/kg/day) was given alone, bone mechanical competence improved significantly whereas insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and calcium concentrations in the bone matrix were significantly reduced. Treatment with low-dose prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg/day) alone did not influence bone mechanical properties compared with intact control rats (without prednisolone) although a significant reduction in calcium concentration and an increased phosphorus concentration were measured. A combined therapy with prednisolone and 1 alpha-vitamin D-3 significantly increased bone strength, toughness, and stiffness compared with control bones. Both mineralization degree (ash and calcium concentration) and IGF-I concentration were decreased. We conclude that (1) mechanical properties of rat cortical bones improve relatively more in males compared with age-matched females during growth which is related to increased bone mass and size, (2) low-dose prednisolone treatment does not change mechanical properties in males, and altered them only nonsignificantly in females despite a change in mineralization degree in both sexes; (3) treatment with 1 alpha-vitamin D-3 results in a consistent increase in mechanical competence of the bone accompanied by a significant decrease in IGF-I concentration in the bone matrix.