Collagen type I of rat cortical and trabecular bone differs in the extent of posttranslational modifications

This study sought to evaluate whether the architecture of the matrix of cortical and trabecular bone is exactly the same. For this purpose we analyzed the extent of some posttranslational modifications of type I collagen, which is the major component of bone matrix. Ten female and 10 male 100-day-old rats were sacrificed and the content of hydroxylysine, glycosylated hydroxylysine, and pyridinium cross-links of collagen from cortical and trabecular bone was determined. The amount of each compound was expressed as a molar ratio with hydroxyproline. The collagen posttranslational modification pattern appears to be the same in both sexes but with a higher extent of differences in females compared with males. Comparing cortical and trabecular bone, the former contains a higher amount of hydroxylysine residues whereas in the latter, glycosylation of hydroxylysine is higher and pyridinium cross-link concentration is lower. Moreover, an inverse linear relationship between glycosylated hydroxylysine and pyridinium cross-links concentration was established, both for female (r = -0.455, P = 0.04) and male rats (r = -0.426; P = 0.06). This paper discusses what these findings may mean in functional terms.