Abstract-Text (inkl. Referenzen und Bildunterschriften)

Background: Patients suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk of suffering from bone-associated diseases like osteoporosis. Dysregulation of serum phosphate and calcium levels effect mineralization and bone development, and bone structure. In this project CKD-induced bone disease was investigated as well as the mediating effect of the chromogranin A derived calcification blocking factor (CBF) on the bone.

Methods: To investigate the effect of CKD on bone quality, a rat model of vascular calcification (VDN rats) was used. The structure and bone mineral density of tibia from VDN rats with and without CBF treatment were analyzed via micro computed tomography scans (Micro-CT scans). In detail, the bone mineral density of the trabecular and cortical bone, as well as the trabecular thickness, number, and porosity were analyzed.

Results: VDN animals without additional treatment show significant changes in bone structure and bone mineral density of the tibia. The mineral density of the trabecular bone show an increase of 88% in VDN rats compared to control animals. The trabecular number of VDN rats increased by 134%. Conversely, the trabecular thickness, and porosity decreased by 25%, and 14% respectively. Similarly, the mineral density of the cortical bone decreased by 8% and the porosity increased by 32% in VDN rats. These changes were in all cases negated to non-significance compared to the control, when treated with CBF.

Conclusion: In our study, we were able to show the CKD-induced changes in bone mineral density and trabecular structure in the tibia of rats suffering from vascular calcification. Preventive treatment with CBF proved to inhibit any CKD-induced changes, effectively preserving the healthy state of the bone.