Some findings on the mechanism of adaptation of the intestine to calcium deficiency

The effect of dietary calcium content and oral vitamin D3 supplementation on mineral homeostasis in a subterranean mole-rat Cryptomys damarensis

The Damara mole-rat, Cryptomys damarensis, has no access to obvious dietary or endogenous sources of vitamin D. We tested the hypotheses that mineral metabolism in these animals is independent of vitamin D status but rather is affected by dietary calcium (Ca) content. Furthermore, we questioned whether bone and teeth assist in plasma mineral homeostasis. Mole-rats increased Ca intake when dietary Ca content increased; however, mode of gastrointestinal uptake, vitamin D metabolite and plasma Ca concentrations were not altered. Similarly, oral vitamin D supplementation did not affect gastrointestinal Ca absorption or alter plasma Ca concentration, although significant increases in plasma concentrations of vitamin D were evident. Bone and teeth mineral (Ca and Pi) content were augmented with vitamin D supplementation. Mineral homeostasis was primarily maintained by manipulating mineral deposition in teeth, for mineral content in teeth increased significantly when dietary Ca content changed from 1.3 g/kg to 2.6 g/kg and higher. Mineral homeostasis in these subterranean rodents does not appear to be regulated at the level of the intestine, but rather by manipulating bone and teeth mineral reservoirs.

Development of a technique for in situ studies of calcium absorption in the intestine of rats

The aim of the present study was to develop (feasibility, reliability, reproducibility) a technique for the in situ measurement of intestinal calcium absorption in the rat. An intestinal loop (duodenum+proximal jejunum) was perfused both by the intraluminal and vascular routes. A solution of NaCl 155 mM and CaCl2 1.25 mM containing 45Ca was perfused intraluminally at a flow rate of 0.2 ml/min and the 45Ca appearing in the venous effluent was determined to estimate calcium absorption. This technique was used to study the effect of a 10-day period of calcium supplementation on calcium absorption. The animals received enterally either 5 or 30 mg/day per kg BW. The results showed that intestinal calcium transport was enhanced when rats were given the calcium supplement for 10 days prior to the experiment (99.3 +/- 2.5 (n = 5) versus 36.6 +/- 3.6 (n = 5) nmol/min per kg BW, P < 0.001). This study indicates that dietary calcium supplement enhances calcium absorption probably by increasing the passive transport of calcium in the small intestine.

Cortical bone maintenance in an historic Afro-American cemetery sample from Cedar Grove, Arkansas

The relocation and analysis of 80 skeletons from the Cedar Grove Cemetery, located in southwest Arkansas, provides an opportunity to examine the level of health and nutrition experienced by Afro-Americans in the post-Reconstruction South (1878-1930). The demographic profile lends support to the interpretation that Cedar Grove participated in the nationwide decline in Afro-American health. The high frequencies of skeletal lesions indicative of dietary deficiencies and infectious disease demonstrate that this was a highly stressed population. For this analysis, adult femoral thin sections (15 females and 14 males) are examined histologically. These data provide support to the assertion that the Cedar Grove population experienced poor health. Measures taken from the sections include cortical thickness, percent cortical area, and mean number of resorption spaces and forming osteons per square millimeter of bone. As a group, they demonstrate low percent cortical area compared with well-nourished normals. They also show high rates of resorption to formation, thereby disrupting the balance necessary for normal cortical bone maintenance. The pattern established for bone porosity in this group is not a function of age but rather is due to other factors, most likely nutrition and disease stress. What may be unique about this group is that males, as well as females, experienced problems with calcium homeostasis and normal maintenance and repair of bone. Taken together, these data support the interpretation that diet and health were substandard in the post-Reconstruction South.

Calcium-dependent, parathyroid hormone-independent regulation of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D

The increase of plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) in response to Ca restriction has been suggested to be essentially mediated by parathyroid hormone (PTH). In this study, we have assessed the influence of variations in calcium intake on plasma 1,25(OH)2D in pair-fed sham-operated (sham) and in hypocalcemic hypoparathyroid rats after thyroparathyroidectomy (TPTX). In sham rats, plasma 1,25(OH)2D increased from 189 +/- 16 to 486 +/- 41 pM when dietary calcium was inreased from 1.2% Ca to 0.2% Ca. This increase was associated with an increase in plasma PTH level. In TPTX rats, plasma 1,25(OH)2D increased from 112 +/- 9 to 332 +/- 36 pM when dietary calcium was decreased. In this case, the increase was not associated with a rise in plasma PTH level nor with an increase in urinary cyclic AMP. When TPTX rats were infused chronically with PTH (60 U/day), plasma 1,25(OH)2D was 62 +/- 9 pM when the 1.2% Ca diet was given and 281 +/- 45 pM with the 0.2% Ca diet. These reults confirm that the thyroparathyroid glands influence plasma 1,25(OH)2D but they also provide evidence for a PTH-independent response of plasma 1,25(OH)2D to Ca restriction.

The effect of dietary calcium on the activity of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol-1-hydroxylase and Ca absorption in vitamin D-replete chicks

1. As most of the studies on the regulation of renal 25-hydroxycholecalciferol-1-hydroxylase (25-HCC-1-hydroxylase) activity have been done in marginally-vitamin D-deficient animals and as it is known that vitamin D administration suppresses the specific activity of the 25-HCC-1-hydroxylase, it was decided to study the effect of dietary calcium on the activity of 25-HCC-1-hydroxylase and on Ca absorption in vitamin D-replete chicks. 2. Chicks, 10 d old, were given diets differing in their Ca contents (65 nmol cholecalciferol/kg diet) for 10 d and the activity of 25-HCC-1-hydroxylase in kidney homogenates, Ca absorption from the duodenum, Ca-binding protein (CaBP) activity in the duodenal mucosa and plasma Ca and phosphate concentrations were all determined. 3. The CaBP activity and the efficiency of Ca absorption both decreased with increasing dietary intake of Ca. Ca absorption and CaBP activity were significantly correlated (r 0-995, P less than 0-01). 4. The activity of 25-HCC-1-hydroxylase decreased as the dietary level of Ca increased and was significantly correlated with Ca absorption (r 0-900, P less than 0-05). The plasma Ca concentration and the activity of 25-HCC-1-hydroxylase were inversely related (r-0-940, P less than 0-01). 5. It is concluded that in the vitamin D-replete chick the efficiency of duodenal Ca absorption is regulated by the renal 25-HCC-1-hydroxylase activity via production of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol and CaBP synthesis.

Influence of sodium and parathyroid hormone on calcium release from intestinal mucosal cells

The uptake and release of (45)Ca from the intestinal mucosal epithelium were investigated under a variety of conditions. The initial rate of uptake characterized a calcium pool with a half-time of saturation of less than 2 min. The entry of (45)Ca into this pool was inhibited by NaCN and ethacrynic acid and was stimulated by the removal of Cl(-) from the incubation. The initial rate of (45)Ca release was also inhibited by NaCN and removal of Na(+) from the incubation. Parathyroid hormone administration enhanced the release of (45)Ca from cells prepared from parathyroid-ectomized animals. These observations suggest that calcium transport across the brush border and basallateral membranes are identifiable components of the kinetics of (45)Ca uptake and release and that parathyroid hormone stimulates a sodium-dependent mechanism of calcium transport across the basal-lateral membranes.