No abstract

The concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH)2D], calcium, and phosphorus were measured in the serum of rats during pregnancy and at various stages of lactation. The concentration of 1,25-(OH)2D hormone increased almost two-fold during pregnancy and the latter part of lactation, but decreased to control levels or very low values immediately after birth and weaning, respectively. Furthermore, the concentration of 1,25-(OH)2D was inversely correlated with the concentration of calcium, suggesting that circulating 1,25-(OH)2D fluctuates in concert with calcium demands during the reproductive cycle. Parathyroidectomy in lactating rats caused a 70 percent inhibition of the normally observed 1,25-(OH)2D increase, indicating that parathyroid hormone, in response to changes in serum calcium, is a primary modulator of 1,25-(OH)2D during lactation.

A time course study of active Ca transport in the duodenum and the terminal ileum was conducted using the everted gut sac technique during the last week of pregnancy and throughout lactation. A triphasic pattern was revealed in the proximal duodenum: a marked rise between 18 and 20 days of pregnancy, a plateau maintained during the last 3 days of pregnancy and the first 2-3 days of lactation, and a fall by day 4 of lactation. The late-pregnancy rise was significant also when expressed as milligrams Ca transported relative to tissue weight, indicating that intestinal hypertrophy was not the cause of the increase. The ratio of serosal to mucosal Ca concentration remained low until approximately day 11 of lactation, when it rose toward a new peak. There was no active Ca transport in the ileum until the third week of lactation. Serum prolactin levels increased 10-fold between 18 and 20 days of pregnancy and remained high until at least day 7 of lactation, but did not correlate significantly with duodenal Ca transport. Injected rat prolactin did not result in a precocious rise in Ca transport in pregnant rats. The fluctuations in duodenal Ca transport during lactation were reflected by a small, but statistically significant, decrease in net fractional Ca absorption at 6-9 days compared with either 2-4 days or 13-16 days. We suggest that duodenal active Ca transport plays only a small role in total intestinal Ca absorption in the lactating rat except when dietary Ca is greatly restricted.

The isoflavone-rich soy preparation had no effects on BMC and BMD over a 12-month period in young healthy adult females with normal menses. An isoflavone-rich supplement appears to have little or no effect on bone in young adult women with normal ovarian function, at least over this 12-month study period.

The effects of maternal vitamin D deprivation on rat pups were examined in terms of serum levels of Ca, phosphorus (P), and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (250HD), ash content, and histological appearance of long bones. In each of 10 experiments, litters of 8--10 young were examined at 2 or 3 different ages within the range of 5--57 days. Pregnant mothers were fed a diet containing 0.4% Ca, and 0.4% P and either no vitamin D(--D) or 5 IU D3/g diet (+D). Mothers fed the --D diet developed marked hypocalcemia (4--5 mg/dl) during lactation, but no change in milk Ca or P. The earliest changes in pups suckled by mothers on --D diets compared to pups suckled by mothers on +D diets were significant reductions at 8 days in serum P (6--12% in 3 of 5 experiments) and in serum 250HD3. By the 15th day, serum 250HD3 was undetectable, body weight was reduced by 26%, serum Ca was reduced by 9%, and serum P was reduced by 15%. During the following 10 days, when gradual weaning took place, serum Ca decreased progressively, serum P returned to normal, serum Mg became elevated, bone ash (as percent of dry weight of tibia) was decreased, and decalcified sections of the proximal end of the tibia revealed irregularity and widening (1.5- to 3-fold) of the hypertrophic cartilage layer and the metaphyseal trabeculae. All of these changes were also prominent in 8-week-old --D rats. The results indicate that rat pups suckling vitamin D-deprived mothers can develop biochemical evidence (including hypophosphatemia) as well as histological evidence of vitamin D deficiency similar to that of human vitamin D deficiency rickets. This is in contrast to rats deprived of vitamin D after weaning, who do not develop hypophosphatemia or characteristic histological evidence of rickets unless deprived of P as well as vitamin D.