Pathogenesis of vitamin (A and D)-induced premature growth-plate closure in calves

The pathogenesis of vitamin A-induced premature growth-plate closure was investigated in calves. A progressive increase in the severity of growth-plate lesions with time and a progressive increase in the extent of growth-plate involvement was observed. There was initial loss of metachromasia from the growth plate in a region that formed a narrow horizontal band of cartilage composed of the epiphyseal growth zone and a strip of reserve-zone cartilage. Immunostaining revealed there was loss of aggrecan, decorin, and biglycan from this region; however, it was doubtful that the regional loss of proteoglycan was a major contributing factor in the pathogenesis of premature growth-plate closure. This is because this region was the vestige of cartilage that remained when growth-plate closure was almost complete. The major alteration was premature mineralization of columnar cartilage and subsequent endochondral ossification. This caused the depth of the columnar zone to be reduced. Columnar-zone cartilage cells appeared immature where the matrix became mineralized and lacked the morphology of hypertrophic chondrocytes. The depth of the reserve-cartilage zone also was reduced as matrix mineralization of the columnar zone progressed, and further reduction in columnar cartilage depth occurred. Eventually, there was matrix mineralization within the adjacent reserve cartilage. The distribution of reaction product after immunostaining with antibodies to the following proteins was described during normal endochondral ossification: aggrecan, decorin, biglycan, versican, type I collagen propeptide, type I collagen, type II collagen, osteopontin, osteocalcin, osteonectin, bone sialoprotein, and alkaline phosphatase. Biglycan, type I collagen propeptide, type I collagen, osteopontin, osteocalcin, osteonectin, bone sialoprotein, and alkaline phosphatase were localized within the cytoplasm or surrounding matrix of hypertrophic chondrocytes. In vitamin-treated calves, these same proteins were found in regions undergoing premature matrix mineralization even though the chondrocytes did not have a hypertrophic morphology. Therefore, vitamin treatment did not cause just a selective expression, but it caused expression of a large number of matrix proteins normally associated with the hypertrophic chondrocyte phenotype. Finally, completely mineralized columnar and reserve cartilage were removed by a modeling/remodeling process similar to that seen in the metaphysis.