The factors involved in calcium homeostasis during the mammalian reproductive cycle and specifically in the control of active calcium transport in the intestine have not been thoroughly investigated. For this reason calcium transport in the intestine was measured in vitamin D-replete and vitamin D-deficient rats during pregnancy and lactation using the everted gut sac technique. In addition the changes in the plasma concentrations of calcium and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D were measured and correlated with transport. During the later stages of pregnancy and during lactation, the concentration of calcium in the plasma is reduced 10-30%. In turn, in the vitamin D-replete rat, the concentration of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in the plasma increases from a control value of 26 pg/ml to 158 pg/ml at day 14 of lactation. Calcium transport in the intestine increases late in pregnancy, peaks during lactation, and then falls to control values by 3 wk postweaning in both vitamin D-replete and D-deficient animals. These findings strengthen the established relationship between 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and active calcium transport in the intestine as well as suggest that some factor(s) independent of vitamin D is stimulating intestinal calcium transport during the reproductive cycle.

To examine putative sources of interindividual variation in calcium absorption efficiency, we studied 41 healthy premenopausal women (mean age, 36.4 yr). About half were randomized to pretreatment with supplemental 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD; 20 micrograms/day [corrected] for approximately 34 days) before testing. We measured dietary factors, humoral regulators, intestinal motility, mucosal histology, mucosal vitamin D receptor levels, and calcium absorption efficiency. In winter tests, but not in summer tests, calcium absorption fraction was significantly higher in the pretreated group (mean, 0.465 vs. 0.387). Serum 25OHD, intestinal transit, and urinary calcium to creatinine ratio were all significantly and positively correlated to calcium absorption efficiency. However, neither the level of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D receptors in duodenal mucosa nor circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D was related to calcium absorption efficiency. These findings, which are consistent with other published human data, suggest that 25OHD plays a more prominent role in the regulation of calcium absorption than is generally believed. In a multiple regression model, serum 25OHD, mouth to cecum transit time, and fasting urinary calcium/creatinine ratio explained 44% of the observed variation in calcium absorption efficiency.

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Cytosol fractions were prepared from fetal rat or embryonic chick calvaria and analyzed for binding of vitamin D3 metabolites on sucrose density gradients. Both cytosol fractions contain a 3.5S macromolecule which specifically binds 1,25-dihydroxy-[3H]vitamin D3 and in addition, a 5 to 6S macromolecule which binds 25-hydroxy-[3H]vitamin D3. In rat calvaria cytosol, 1,25-dihydroxy-[3H]vitamin D3 also binds to the 5 to 6S macromolecule but appears to have greater affinity for the 3.5S component.

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In vitamin D-deficient rats intestinal calcium transport increased significantly 4 hours after an injection of prolactin, reached a maximum after 8 hours, and declined to preinjection levels after 24 hours. Similarly, in vitamin D-deficient rats fed a diet low in calcium or phosphorus prolactin stimulated an increase in serum calcium in both groups and an increase in serum phosphorus in the rats fed the diet low in phosphorus. Thus it appears that prolactin affects organs involved in calcium regulation in a manner that is independent of the vitamin D endocrine system.

25-Hydroxycholecalciferol stimulates release of previously incorporated calcium-45 from fetal rat bones in doses of 0.9 to 27 units per milliliter. This effect cannot be produced by much larger doses of vitamin D(3). Comparison of stimulation of bone resorption by 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and parathyroid hormone reveals similarities with respect to time course, dose-response slope, and inhibition by calcitonin.

Female weanling rats from a colony maintained on a diet low in vitamin D were raised on a diet that was deficient in vitamin D but was otherwise adequate. Vitamin D deficiency was confirmed in the rats by hypocalcemia and the absence of vitamin D metabolites in blood. These females gave birth to litters that were slightly smaller than control litters from females maintained on a vitamin D-containing diet. The pups from the vitamin D-deficient mothers appeared normal throughout lactation, and at weaning had normal concentrations of calcium and phosphate in the plasma. These results indicate that vitamin D and its metabolites are not necessary for reproduction and fetal development in the rat.