A comparative study of the calcification-promoting action of 1,25 (OH)2D3 and calcitonin on the growth cartilage of rats with 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-biphosphonic acid (HEBP)-induced rickets.

When HEBP (1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-biphosphonic acid) was administered to young rats in large doses over a short period rickets was consistently produced. When HEBP was administered concomitantly with 1,25 (OH)2D3 or calcitonin (CT), calcification appeared in the growth-plate cartilage where there had been an increase in thickness due to the inhibition of calcification. This experiment was done in an attempt to clarify differences in the calcification-promoting mechanisms of 1,25 (OH)2D3 and CT. The serum alkaline phosphatase level was reduced in rats with an accelerated calcification following the administration of 1,25 (OH)2D3, but there was no reduction in the serum alkaline phosphatase level in rats in which the calcification was accelerated by the administration of CT. The mode of appearance of calcification in the growth-plate cartilage by 1,25 (OH)2D3 or CT differed, depending on the time of administration. These results suggest that mechanisms involved in the enhancement of calcification by 1,25 (OH)2D3 and CT differ in cases where rickets are induced by HEBP.