17 beta-Estradiol and tamoxifen prevent the over-glycosylation of rat trabecular bone collagen induced by ovariectomy.

We have recently demonstrated that ovariectomy in the rat causes over-glycosylation of collagen which is restricted to trabecular bone. In order to obtain further evidence, we studied whether estrogen or tamoxifen treatment prevented over-glycosylation of trabecular bone collagen. Forty one-hundred-day-old female rats were subjected to ovariectomy (n = 30) or sham-operation (n = 10). Starting the day of the operation, sham-operated rats were treated with vehicle, while ovariectomized rats were divided into three groups and treated with vehicle (n = 10), estrogen (n = 10) or tamoxifen (n = 10). Five rats from each group were sacrificed at 115 and 145 days of age. Femurs and tibiae were separated into cortical and trabecular bone, demineralized, hydrolyzed and analyzed by HPLC for hydroxylysine glycoside and hydroxyproline content. Hydroxylysine glycoside content was expressed as a molar ratio with hydroxyproline. The results can be summarized as follows: 1) cortical bone collagen glycosylation did not vary among the different groups; 2) over-glycosylation of trabecular bone collagen observed in the ovariectomized rats was prevented by the administration of either 17 beta-estradiol or tamoxifen. These data demonstrated that estrogens affect glycosylation of trabecular bone collagen.