Relationship between the ingredients of semipurified diets and nutritional nephrocalcinosis of rats.

Nephrocalcinosis occurred in rats fed semipurified diets containing the levels of essential nutrients recommended for the rat by the Committee on Animal Nutrition of the National Research Council. The renal lesions were less severe in males than in females when weanling rats were fed the diet for 8 weeks. A study of the dietary ingredients indicated that there was an interaction between the mineral and nonmineral components which modulated the severity of the disease. It was shown that nephrocalcinosis did not result from a lack of trace minerals or vitamins, and the disease was prevented in one instance by reducing the dietary levels of calcium and phosphorus. Before final conclusions can be made concerning the etiology of this disease, additional information is required about the effects of mineral and nonmineral interactions on calcium metabolism and renal function.