Circadian variations in plasma calcium and calcitonin: effect of calcium deficiency and fasting

Circadian fluctuations of plasma calcium and immunoassayable calcitonin levels were studied in normal and calcium-deficient 2-month-old rats. The relationship between these parameters was also studied in animals which had been fasted for short periods. The plasma calcium rhythm persisted and was even amplified in rats placed on a 4-week calcium-deficient diet. In these rats, as in normal rats, the plasma calcium concentration diminished during the dark period. Calcitonin levels increased at the onset of the feeding period in normal rats but, in calcium-deficient rats, the pattern changed completely, with a major peak at the end of the light period and remaining at a low level during the dark feeding period. This modification of calcitonin rhythmicity appeared to be dependent on the degree of calcium deficiency. Fasting had little effect on calcitonin rhythms in either normal or calcium-deficient rats. It is concluded that the calcitonin rhythm is relatively independent of feeding per se and that there appears to be no simple relationship between plasma calcium and calcitonin concentrations. It is suggested that the results may best be interpreted as reflecting the presence of rhythmic endogenous phenomena which are intrinsic to calcium metabolism and its regulation in the rat.