[The effect of hypothalamic arcuate nucleus damaged by monosodium glutamate on skeleton in rat].

Aim: To explore the effect of hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) on the skeleton in rat.

Methods: Newborn SD rats were injected by 10% MSG 4 g/kg hypodermically once every other day until the 10th day postnatally, meanwhile, the newborn rats in control group were given by equal volume of normal saline. After surviving for 200 days, 6 female rats in each group were killed and their hypothalami were made into sections (4 microm) and stained with HE. The length, diameter, weight and volume of the femora, the tibia, the humeri, the radii and the ulnae were measured.

Results: The number of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus nervous cell were obviously less than those in control group as well as the length, diameter, weight, volume but the weight/volume (g/cm3) of the femora, the tibia, the humeri, the radii and the ulnae decreased significantly as compared with the control group. Levels of serum GH E2 in rats of MSG group were obviously lower than that in control group.

Conclusion: The hypothalamic arcuate nucleus participated in the regulation of the growth and development of skeleton in rats.