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Physical and Biochemical Changes of the Mandible and Long Bone in Protein-Energy Malnourished Newborn Rats¹

Oral Science Laboratories, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

The activities of alkaline and acid phosphatases, the linear dimensions and volumes of mandibles and long bones, and the level of calcitonin in serum of rat pups suckled on dams fed 25 or 6% protein diets were determined. In both mandibles and long bones, alkaline phosphatase activity corresponded to the calcification pattern, and acid phosphatase activity paralleled organic matrix formation. The calcitonin level in blood serum of the malnourished pups differed from that of controls only on day 5. The linear dimensions and volume were consistently more affected in long bones than in mandibles. These results may be explained in terms of the critical growth periods of these bones. In the mandible, the critical growth period appears to occur prenatally, whereas in the long bone it occurs postnatally, when the nutritional stress of this experiment was applied. Long bones were thus generally more affected than mandibles.

KEY WORDS: • mandible • long bone • alkaline phosphatase • acid phosphatase • malnutrition • physical changes of bones • calcitonin and malnutrition

¹ This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (5-T01-DE00105).

² Present address: Department of Physiology. Louisiana State University Medical Center, 1100 Florida Avenue, New Orieans, Louisiana 70119.

³ Present address: Director, Bureau of Foods, HFF1, Food and Drug Administration, 200 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20204.

Manuscript received 21 September 1978.