Calcitonin Stimulates Maturation of Mammalian Growth Plate Cartilage*

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
To determine whether calcitonin (CT) might effect maturation of mammalian growth plate cartilage, salmon CT (sCT) was administrated to young rats and used the growth plate from the distal metatarsal as a 4 in vivo growth plate model. Growth plate alkaline phosphatase activity and histological examinations were assessed after 3 days of sCT treatment. Alkaline phosphatase activity, a marker of hypertrophied chondrocytes, increased 85%; the zone of maturation enlarged in rats receiving sCT. sCT treatment was associated with an increased growth plate 35SO4 incorporation 84% above animals receiving buffer alone. Whether this might be a direct effect of CT by using an in vitro model, the growth plate from the fetal pig scapula was tested. Organ culture of these cartilages in serum-free medium with and without sCT (1 U/ml) was performed for 3 days. sCT stimulated alkaline phosphatase activity 49% above growth plates incubated in medium alone. sCT treatment increased the number of hypertrophied chondrocytes leading to widening of the zone of maturation. Apparently, CT might have a role growing mammals by promoting maturation of growth plate cartilage.

This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit: