Histomorphometric analysis of the effects of standard heparin on trabecular bone in vivo

Long-term heparin treatment causes osteoporosis through an as yet undefined mechanism. To investigate this phenomenon, we treated rats with once daily subcutaneous injections of heparin (in doses ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 U/g) or saline for 8 to 32 days and monitored the effects on bone both histomorphometrically and by serial measurements of urinary type 1 collagen cross linked-pyridinoline (PYD) and serum alkaline phosphatase, markers of bone resorption and formation, respectively. Histomorphometric analysis of the distal third of the right femur in the region proximal to the epiphyseal growth plate showed that heparin induces both a time- and dose-dependent decreased in trabecular bone volume, with the majority of trabecular bone loss occurring within the first 8 days of treatment. Thus, heparin doses of 1.0 U/g/d resulted in a 32% loss of trabecular bone. Heparin-treated rats also showed a 37% decrease in osteoblast surface as well as a 75% decrease in osteoid surface. In contrast, heparin treatment had the opposite effect on osteoclast surface, which was 43% higher in heparin-treated rats, as compared with that in control rats. Biochemical markers of bone turnover showed that heparin treatment produced a dose-dependent decrease in serum alkaline phosphatase and a transient increase in urinary PYD, thus confirming the histomorphometric data. Based on these observations, we conclude that heparin decreases trabecular bone volume both by decreasing the rate of bone formation and increasing the rate of bone resorption.