Age-related bone loss in lumbar vertebrae of CW-1 female mice: a histomorphometric study.
Age-related changes in vertebral cortical and trabecular bone were quantitated in female CW-1 mice. Histomorphometric measurements involved the use of two different systems of image analysis: Olympus Cue 2 and Zeiss Morphomat 10. The peak of bone mass, both cortical and trabecular, was found in mice aged 13.5 months. Thereafter, there was a progressive decline in the area occupied by bone tissue and this became highly significant in elderly female and male mice. A loss of about 60% of bone tissue was encountered in both the trabecular and cortical bone, as determined by automated image analysis system. Hence, aging CW-1 mice reveal structural features consistent with vertebral osteopenia. Despite the fact that to date we lack the precise etiology for the above-mentioned phenomenon, it is suggested that the laboratory mouse might serve as an appropriate experimental model for investigations related to age-related bone loss.
Bar-Shira-Maymon
B
B
Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.
Coleman
R
R
Cohen
A
A
Steinhagen-Thiessen
E
E
Silbermann
M
M
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats