title: Vitamin D3 3 beta sulfate has less biological activity than free vitamin D3 during pregnancy in rats.
abstract: The biological activities of free (D3) and sulfoconjugated (SD3) vitamin D3 were compared after 6 weeks of oral administration to D-deficient (-D) female rats which were mated in the meantime. Mothers and pups were sacrificed 1-2 days following parturition and mineral and hormonal plasma status was determined in mothers and bone mineral determinations and bone histomorphometric studies performed. In newborns, plasma levels of Ca, P and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) were measured. After parturition, -D mothers had decreased body weight (BW) as well as decreased plasma levels of Ca, P and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) associated with undetectable levels of 25(OH)D. Plasma levels of immunoreactive calcitonin and parathormone, by contrast, were higher than in vitamin D-replete (+D) control mothers. Bone histomorphometric analysis showed osteomalacia and secondary hyperparathyroidism in -D mothers. After parturition, -D +SD mothers had reduced BW compared to D-treated mothers and the plasma parameters measured were abnormal. Almost all bone histomorphometric parameters were found to be intermediate between +D and -D groups without reaching values of +D mothers. By contrast, -D +D mothers had most of the bone formation parameters identical to those of +D mothers. However, bone resorption was still higher while plasma levels of P and 25(OH)D remained slightly, but significantly lower than in +D mothers. In pups, plasma Ca in both D3- and SD3-treated groups was similar to values in +D-treated rats. However, pups from SD3-treated mothers still showed plasma levels of P and 25(OH)D lower than in +D pups. In conclusion, treatment with SD3 in -D mother rats significantly improves the biochemical plasma parameters of pups, but complete normalization can be achieved only in the D3-treated group. Our results show that when administered at equal amounts, SD3 has a much lower biological activity than D3 in -D female rats and cannot therefore replace vitamin D3 particularly during pregnancy.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism; D001835:Body Weight; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002112:Calcifediol / Q000097:blood; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000097:blood; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D005260:Female; D006961:Hyperparathyroidism / Q000473:pathology; D010018:Osteomalacia / Q000473:pathology; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D051381:Rats; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; C026415:vitamin D3 sulfoconjugate; D002762:Cholecalciferol; D010758:Phosphorus; D002117:Calcitriol; D002112:Calcifediol; D002118:Calcium