Low-magnitude whole-body vibration does not enhance the anabolic skeletal effects of intermittent PTH in adult mice.

Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a low-magnitude mechanical stimulus that may be anabolic for bone, yet we recently found that WBV did not improve bone properties in adult mice. Because intermittent parathyroid hormone (PTH) enhances the anabolic effects of high-magnitude skeletal loading, we sought to determine the skeletal effects of WBV in combination with PTH. Seven-month-old male BALB/c mice were assigned to six groups (n = 13-14/group) based on magnitude of applied acceleration (0 or 0.3 G) and PTH dose (0, 10, or 40 µg/kg/day). Mice were exposed to WBV (0.3 G, 90 Hz, sine wave) or sham loading (0 G) for 15 min/day, 5 days/week for 8 weeks. Vehicle or hPTH (1-34) was administered prior to each WBV session. Whole-body bone mineral content increased by ~ 5% from 0 to 8 weeks in the 40 µg/kg PTH group only, independent of WBV loading. Similarly, PTH treatment increased tibial cortical bone volume by ~5% from 0 to 8 weeks, independent of WBV loading. Neither PTH nor WBV stimulated trabecular bone formation. Consistent with the cortical bone effect, tibias from the 40 µg/kg PTH group had significantly greater ultimate force and energy to failure than tibias in the 0 and 10 µg/kg PTH groups, independent of WBV treatment. In summary, 8 weeks of intermittent PTH treatment increased cortical bone volume and strength in adult male BALB/c mice. Daily exposure to low-magnitude WBV by itself did not improve skeletal properties and did not enhance the PTH effect. No WBV-PTH synergy was found in this preclinical study.