Biomechanical and biochemical changes in lumbar vertebrae of rapidly growing rats

Although growth-related biochemical, morphological, and biomechanical properties of rat cortical bone have been investigated, similar properties of immature rat vertebral bone have not been well characterized. Information about these properties is necessary, however, for comparative analyses of rat vertebral bone adaptation. Thus a method was developed to characterize growth-related differences in immature rat vertebral bone. The centra of sixth lumbar vertebrae (L6) of 44-day-old and 54-day-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were compressed to 50% of their initial height at a 50%/s strain rate while immersed in a potassium phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4, 37 degrees C). Structural and material properties for the 54-day-old group that were significantly greater than those for the 44-day-old group included load, stress, and energy at the proportional limit; initial maximum load and stress; and load and energy at 50% strain. The structural stiffness of L6, as well as its elastic modulus, was significantly greater in the older animals. The calcium concentrations and calcium-to-collagen ratios in 54-day-old vertebrae were significantly greater than in younger animals. These results indicated that the specimen preparation and testing protocol developed for rat vertebrae produced reliable biomechanical results, even with the relatively small size of rat vertebrae bodies, and that the quantity and quality of the matrix of immature rat vertebral bone changed significantly during this period of rapid growth. Our test protocol will be useful for investigating the responses of rat vertebral bone to exercise, disease, and spaceflight.