EFFECT OF DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE SULFATE ON MINERAL ACCRETION OF CHICK EMBRYO FRONTAL BONES CULTIVATED IN VITRO

Chick embryo frontal bones at 12 and 13 days of development cultivated in vitro exhibit different patterns of glucose utilization, periosteal cellular density and calcium and hydroxyproline content. When dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate is added to the medium at a concentration 1 mM, 12-day frontals engage primarily in osteoid tissue synthesis while 13-day frontals calcify at a significantly greater rate than controls. Measured with the ratio calcium/hydroxyproline, the calcification of 13-day frontals follows a linear function with the logarithm of the doses of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate employed (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mM). The 13-day frontal bone cultivated in vitro seems to be an adequate experimental model for the study of the effects of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate on bone tissue because it reproduces the basic phenomenon (increased calcification) observed in man and animals treated with androgens. © 1969 Springer-Verlag.