INHIBITION OF WESTERN-DIET INDUCED HYPERPROLIFERATION AND HYPERPLASIAIN MOUSE COLON BY 2 SOURCES OF CALCIUM

A Western-style diet containing high-fat and phosphate, and low calciu m and vitamin D was fed to mice for 20 weeks, Starting at week 8, subg roups of animals received the Western-style diet supplemented by two d ifferent calcium sources: tricalcium phosphate and calcium citrate mal ate. Hyperproliferation (increased [H-3]thymidine-labelled cells/colon ic crypt) and hyperplasia (increased total epithelial cells/crypt) dev eloped in the sigmoid colon after 8 weeks of feeding the Western-style diet confirming previous results, and these were reversed at later pe riods by the addition of the two calcium sources to the Western-style diet. Findings indicate that the modified colonic epithelial cell hype rproliferation and hyperplasia which have been associated with subsequ ent development of colonic neoplasia, are induced in mice fed a Wester n-style diet, and the addition of calcium to the diet inhibited their development in the colonic mucosa.