Circulating Levels of Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase in Rat Models of Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract In order to investigate the pathogenic role of bone resorption by osteoclasts in altered bone metabolism in non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), the circulating levels of tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP) were simultaneously determined with osteocalcin, in rat models of NIDDM, i.e., genetic Wistar fatty rats and neonatally streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (NSZ rats). In Wistar fatty rats exhibiting hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, plasma TRACP was 40.0 ± 0.4 U/l (mean ± SE), significantly higher than that of 32.8 ± 1.3 U/l in their lean littermates ( p p p p p These results suggest that, although the deterioration in the osteoblastic function can be commonly observed in NIDDM animal models, the osteoclastic function is heterogeneous under NIDDM conditions.