Bone structure and metabolism in a rodent model of male senile osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common and severe condition in elderly men, which is poorly characterized. In order to identify the hallmarks of age-related bone loss in the male mammalian skeleton, we studied several aspects of bone structure and metabolism in 23-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats and compared them to 5-month-old animals. Cancellous bone mineral density, bone volume and trabecular number were markedly reduced in the proximal tibia of aged rats when compared to the young rats. An increase in bone matrix material density indicating a reduced deposition of new bone matrix was seen. Also, serum levels of osteocalcin, a marker of bone formation, were reduced in old males. The decreased bone formation could in part be linked to the decreased serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels which were observed in these animals. Serum levels of RatLaps (c-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen) were increased. Interestingly, an ex vivo osteoclast generation assay revealed that bone marrow from aged rats formed fewer osteoclasts than that from young rats. Consistent with this observation, serum levels of soluble RANKL, a critical osteoblast derived factor for osteoclastogenesis, were decreased in aged rats and RANKL mRNA expression was slightly reduced in bone marrow cells. Elevated leptin and adiponectin levels present in these animals could have contributed further to impaired osteoclastogenesis. We conclude that aged male rodents are characterized by a severely diminished cancellous bone network and a bone turnover situation in which bone formation is decreased to such an extent that it is outweighed by bone resorption, despite a blunted osteoclast generation potential of the bone marrow.