Calcium transport in small intestine during early development: role of vitamin D.

To define the role of vitamin D in calcium transport in the intestine during early development, female weanling rats were placed on vitamin D-replete or vitamin D-deficient diets, grown to maturity, and mated with normal males. Pups born to vitamin D-replete and vitamin D-deficient mothers were killed at various times after parturition, and calcium transport in the small intestine as well as the concentrations of calcium and phosphate in the plasma were measured. Transport of calcium in pups from vitamin D-replete and vitamin D-deficient litters was identical at 3 and 14 days postpartum but was threefold greater in pups from vitamin D-replete litters at weaning and 3 wk postweaning. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 had no effect on calcium transport at 14 days postpartum but did induce transport at weaning. Plasma concentrations of calcium at 3 days postpartum were nearly normal but decreased during the suckling period from 10.3 mg/100ml to 7.2 mg/100 ml in vitamin D-deficient rats. These results suggest that calcium transport in the intestine during early development is not mediated by vitamin D but that a vitamin D-sensitive transport system develops late in the suckling period.