title: Bone mineral analysis through dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in laboratory animals.
abstract: To determine how to eliminate species difference in animal bone experiment, bone mineral content (BMC) was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) on the femurs of laboratory mice (Mus musculus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus), and common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Measures were taken on femurs in situ, detached from the body, skinned and defleshed, or dried completely. When the BMC of the bone measured in the intact limb attached to the trunk was set at 100%, the actual BMC of the dry bone was 58.7 +/- 11.5% in mice and 103.2 +/- 3.2% in rats. Similarly, the bone area (Area) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the dried femur was significantly lower in the mouse femurs than intact limb. Thus, soft limb tissue such as skin and muscle modified the BMC, Area, and BMD only in mouse but not in those from rats or marmosets. The bone mineral ratio (BMR; BMC divided by dry bone weight) was nearest to the human bone value in the rat femurs, whereas the mouse femur BMR was the most different. The BMR was proved to be a practical index in evaluating bone characteristics in laboratory animals, but the mouse femur might not be suitable as an animal model for research into the aging of human bone.
authors: Animal Facility for Aging Research (AFAR), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG), Obu, Aichi, Japan.
authors: Masashi
authors: M
authors: TSUJIO
authors: Toshihiro
authors: T
authors: MIZOROGI
authors: Itsuko
authors: I
authors: KITAMURA
authors: Yasuhiro
authors: Y
authors: MAEDA
authors: Kazutoshi
authors: K
authors: NISHIJIMA
authors: Sachi
authors: S
authors: KUWAHARA
authors: Tamio
authors: T
authors: OHNO
authors: Shunpei
authors: S
authors: NIIDA
authors: Masahiro
authors: M
authors: NAGAYA
authors: Ryoichi
authors: R
authors: Saito
authors: Shin
authors: S
authors: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000818:Animals; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D002144:Callithrix / Q000502:physiology*; D005269:Femur / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D051381:Rats