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Changes in Bone Mass and Bone Biomarkers of Cynomolgus Monkeys during Pregnancy and Lactation¹

Comparative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Cynthia J. Lees, D.V.M., Ph.D., Comparative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1040.

A substantial amount of calcium is transferred from the mother to the fetus and infant during pregnancy and lactation. Involvement of the skeleton in meeting this demand should be reflected in changes in bone mass and turnover. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of pregnancy, lactation, and recovery on the skeleton in 43 young (prepeak bone mass) female monkeys. Whole body (WBBMC) and lumbar vertebrae 2–4 bone mineral content were determined by dual x-ray absorptiometry at baseline and 1, 4, and 10 months postpartum. Alkaline phosphatase, bone Gla protein, and urinary cross-links were measured at baseline, during the third trimester, and 1, 4, and 10 months postpartum. Compared to nonpregnant, nonlactating monkeys, pregnant monkeys had similar rates of bone mass gain (nonpregnant, nonlactating WBBMC, 25 ± 9 mg/day; pregnant WBBMC, 20 ± 14 mg/day). Compared to pregnant monkeys, lactating females had increased bone turnover, as indicated by elevated bone biomarker levels (lactating alkaline phosphatase, 259 ± 20 IU/L) and decreased bone mass (lactating WBBMC, -99 ± 21 mg/day). Densitometry showed that bone mass gain in the lactating monkeys did not compensate for lactational loss by 10 months postpartum (WBBMC, 6.95 ± 9 mg/day). This lack of recovery may have been due to the fact that serum estrogen concentrations were just beginning to return to baseline at 10 months postpartum. In conclusion, the cynomolgus monkey skeleton responds similarly to that of women during pregnancy and lactation. Recovery from lactational bone loss is not complete by 10 months postpartum.

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				E. G. Vajda, B. M. Bowman, and S. C. Miller Cancellous and Cortical Bone Mechanical Properties and Tissue Dynamics During Pregnancy, Lactation, and Postlactation in the Rat Biol Reprod, September 1, 2001; 65(3): 689 - 695. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]