Age-related changes in the content of non-reducible crosslinks in rat mandibular bone

Age-related changes in the content of non-reducible crosslink amino acids, pyridinoline and histidinoalanine, in rat mandibular bone were studied. The pyridinoline content markedly increased up to 12 months of age and thereafter slightly increased. The histidinoalanine content was low until 3 months of age, but thereafter increased significantly up to 24 months. Total collagen content remained constant throughout the experiment. From these results, pyridinoline and histidinoalanine may serve as markers for the maturation and senescence, respectively, of mandibular bone.