Abstract
Adult male New Zealand white rabbits were divided into the following groups: 1) control, no treatment; 2) cortisone acetate (CA) 5 mg/kg body weight/day intramuscularly; 3) total thyroidectomy with daily replacement of 25 μg thyroxine given intramuscularly as in Group 2; 4) total thyroidectomy with thyroxine replacement as above and CA treatment as in Group 2. After 21, 28, and 35 days of treatment, the femora and vertebral bodies were examined histologically, roentgenographically, and by determination of mass per unit volume. Ribs, femora and vertebral bodies were analyzed for total calcium, hydroxyproline, and hexosaminecollagen ratio. Serial determinations of serum calcium and inorganic phosphorus were also made. Cortisone-treated animals, intact or thyroidectomized, had decreased bone mass, but by all parameters the decrease was more significant in Group 4. Since these animals were known to be euthyroid but calcitonin-deficient, the decreased bone mass observed in Group 4 may be correlated with CT insufficiency. These observations suggest that endogenous CT contributes to the maintenance of bone mass in the early stages of hyperadrenocorticism, possibly by offsetting hyperactivity of the parathyroid gland.
Résumé
Des lapins blancs néo-zélandais adultes sont répartis selon les groupes suivants: 1) témoin, sans traitement; 2) administration intramusculaire de 5 mg/kg de poids d'acétate de cortisone (CA); 3) thyroidectomie totale avec administration intramusculaire quotidienne de 25 μg de thyroxine; 4) thyroidectomie totale avec traitement à l'acétate de cortisone et de thyroxine, selon 2 et 3. Après 21, 28 et 35 jours de traitement, les fémurs et les corps vertébraux sont étudiés histologiquement, radiographiquement et par détermination du poids par unité devolume. Le calcium total, l'hydroxyproline et la rapport hexosamine-collagène sont déterminés dans les côtes, les fémurs et les corps vertébraux. La calcémie et la phosphorémie ont également été déterminées. Les animaux traités à la cortisone, non opérés ou thyroidectomisés, présentent une diminution de la masse osseuse: la diminution de tous les paramètres étudiés est surtout nette dans le groupe 4. Ces animaux étant surtout déficients en calcitonine, on peut penser que la décroissance de la masse osseuse est en rapport avec une telle déficience. Ces observations semblent indiquer que la calcitonine endogène contribue au maintien de la masse osseuse au cours des stades précoces d'hyperactivité surrénalienne, vraisemblablement induite par une hyperactivité de compensation de la parathyroide.
Zusammenfassung
Erwachsene männliche weiße neuseeland-Kaninchen wurden in folgende Gruppen eingeteilt: 1) Kontrolle, keine Behandlung; 2) Cortison-Acetat (CA) 5 mg/kg Körpergewicht/Tag intramuskulär; 3) Totale Thyreoidektomie mit täglicher Ersatzgabe von 25 μg Thyroxin, i.m. wie bei Gruppe 2; 4) Totale Thyreoidektomie mit Thyroxingabe wie in Gruppe 3 und Ca-Gabe wie in Gruppe 2. Nach 21, 28 und 35 Behandlungstagen wurden die Femora und Wirbel histologisch, röntgenographisch und durch die Bestimmung des Gewichtes pro Volumeneinheit untersucht. Rippen, Femora und Wirbel wurden auf Gesamtcalcium, Hydroxyprolin und Hexosamin-Collagen-Verhältnis analysiert. Es wurden auch Serienbestimmungen von Calcium und anorganischem Phosphor im Serum gemacht. Cortisonbehandelte Tiere, mit oder ohne Thyreoidea, zeigten alle eine verminderte Knochenmasse, aber die Verminderung war in allen Parametern signifikanter in Gruppe 4. Da diese Tiere bekanntlich genügend Thyroxin aber einen Calcitoninmangel hatten, kann die verminderte Knochenmasse in der Gruppe 4 wahrscheinlich mit einer Calcitonin-Insuffizienz in Verbindung gebracht werden. Diese Beobachtungen lassen vermuten, daß endogenes CT zur Erhaltung der Knochenmasse in den Frühstadien der Nebennierenrinden-Hyperfunktion beiträgt, vermutlich indem es der Hyperaktivität der Parathyreoidea entgegenwirkt.
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This investigation was supported in part by a grant-in-aid from the United States Public Health Service DE02103, the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation and the John A. Hartford Foundation.
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Thompson, J.S., Urist, M.R. Effects of cortisone on bone metabolism in intact and thyroidectomized rabbits. Calc. Tis Res. 13, 197–215 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02015410
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02015410