Excised bone structures in mice: imaging at three-dimensional synchrotron radiation micro CT.

Bone microarchitecture and mineralization were determined at three-dimensional synchrotron radiation micro computed tomography in two inbred mice strains. Distal metaphysis of the left femur was imaged in three dimensions at 6.65 microm, whereas the right femur was analyzed with histomorphometry.

Lower bone cellular activities in male and female mature C3H/HeJ mice are associated with higher bone mass and different pyridinium crosslink profiles compared to C57BL/6J mice.

The female inbred strains of C3H/HeJ (C3H) and C57BL/6J mice (B6), having high and low femoral peak bone mass, respectively, were proposed as models for studying the genetic regulation of bone mass. Here, we compared the known bone phenotype, in 4.5-month-old C3H versus B6 mice, in both genders.

Tail suspension induces bone loss in skeletally mature mice in the C57BL/6J strain but not in the C3H/HeJ strain.

We assessed the effects of tail-suspension in two skeletal genetic backgrounds, the high C3H/HeJ (C3H) and low C57BL/6J (B6) bone masses inbred mice (male, 4-months old). Cancellous bone mass and structural parameters were evaluated in distal femoral metaphysis by three dimensional microcomputed tomography. Bone cellular activities were evaluated by histomorphometry and measurements of alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) and osteocalcin in blood and deoxypyridinoline (D-pyr) in urine.