Effect of guanethidine-induced sympathectomy on osteoblastic activity in the rat femur evaluated by 3H-proline autoradiography.

Osteoblastic activity in the rat femur was assessed following sympathectomy by injections of guanethidine sulfate from birth to 14 days of age. At ages 30, 45 and 90 days, osteogenesis was monitored by quantitative autoradiography using 3H-proline. Grain counts over periosteal osteoblasts of the femoral diaphysis showed a significant reduction in the uptake of 3H-proline in sympathectomized rats. The results indicate that the sympathetic innervation of bone influences osteoblastic activity and provide support for a role of the autonomic nervous system in the regulation of bone formation.