MINERALIZATION OF ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE-COMPLEXED COLLAGENOUS IMPLANTSIN THE RAT - RELATION WITH AGE, SEX, AND SITE OF IMPLANTATION

This study was designed to determine the effects of age, sex, and site of implantation on the extent of alkaline phosphatase-complexed colla gen sheets mineralization in the animal body. Collagen sheets were pre pared from bovine dentin and cortical bone and complexed with varying amounts of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (ALP).(1) Controls were wit hout enzyme or with heat-inactivated enzyme. Sheets were implanted sub cutaneously over the skull and in the dorsolateral abdominal wall in 5 - or 20-week-old male and female Wistar rats. After 2-3 weeks the impl ants were removed and analyzed for phosphate and calcium content. Our findings have shown that alkaline phosphatase-induced mineralization o f collagenous implants is influenced to a considerable extent by age, sex, and site of implantation. Highest mineral influx was seen in the younger males. Implants in younger females and alder males contained l ess mineral, whereas those installed in the older females were almost free of calcium phosphate deposits. Dentinal implants in the skull reg ion contained more mineral than those in the abdominal wall. (C) 1994 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.