Regulation by calcium of in vivo synthesis of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol and 21,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol.

Tritiated 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol accumulates in several tissues, to an extent that varies with dietary calcium content, 12 hr after the administration of 325 pmoles of tritiated 25-hydroxycholecalciferol to rats. As the dietary and serum calcium concentrations increase, the amount of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol is diminished and the concentration of 21,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol increases. This correlation is especially evident in rats given vitamin D(3). In vitamin D-deficient rats, the repression of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol formation occurs with a diet containing 3% calcium and 20% lactose. The results suggest that the production of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, believed to be the metabolically active form of vitamin D in the intestine, is responsible for the adaptation of calcium absorption to low dietary concentrations of calcium.