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The Effect of Sex and Age on Bone Morphology and Strength in the Metacarpus and Humerus in Beef-Cross-Dairy Cattle

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Bone strength in long bones is dependent on the strain it is exposed to via the forces from locomotion and bodyweight. The two strategies to increase bone strength (and reduce strain) are increasing either bone size or bone density. However, puberty initiates growth plate closure and...

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Autores principales: Gibson, Michaela, Hickson, Rebecca, Back, Penny, Dittmer, Keren, Schreurs, Nicola, Rogers, Chris
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8000514/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33807501
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11030694
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author Gibson, Michaela
Hickson, Rebecca
Back, Penny
Dittmer, Keren
Schreurs, Nicola
Rogers, Chris
author_facet Gibson, Michaela
Hickson, Rebecca
Back, Penny
Dittmer, Keren
Schreurs, Nicola
Rogers, Chris
author_sort Gibson, Michaela
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Bone strength in long bones is dependent on the strain it is exposed to via the forces from locomotion and bodyweight. The two strategies to increase bone strength (and reduce strain) are increasing either bone size or bone density. However, puberty initiates growth plate closure and, after puberty, most bone growth ceases. In many species, sex and age affect the relationship between bone strength and liveweight. The aim of this study was to examine how bone strength in two different limb bones was affected by age and sex in beef-cross-dairy cattle. The metacarpus and humerus was collected at time of slaughter and scanned using a peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scanner to obtain measures of bone size and morphology from three cohorts of beef-cross-dairy cattle. Age, sex and live weight were also recorded. Live weight was the main predictor of bone size and strength, but age and sex influenced this relationship. This was reflected in heifers having a metacarpus that was shorter with less cross-sectional area and bone content than steers of the same liveweight and limited differences between steers and bulls of the same liveweight. At the same bone size older animals were heavier demonstrating an effect of age on bone maturity. ABSTRACT: In cattle, limited data have been reported about the relationship between live weight, bone size, and strength and how this relationship can be altered by factors such as sex and age. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship of peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT)-derived parameters of bone strength and morphology with live weight, age and sex in beef-cross-dairy cattle. All animals were weighed the day before slaughter. The metacarpus and humerus were collected at slaughter and scanned at the mid-diaphysis using pQCT. Live weight was the primary explanatory variable for bone size and strength in all cohorts. However, the effect of age was significant, such that magnitude of response to liveweight was less in the 24-month-old cohort. Sex was significant within cohorts in that bulls had a shorter metacarpus than steers and heifers had a shorter metacarpus than steers at age of slaughter.
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spelling pubmed-80005142021-03-28 The Effect of Sex and Age on Bone Morphology and Strength in the Metacarpus and Humerus in Beef-Cross-Dairy Cattle Gibson, Michaela Hickson, Rebecca Back, Penny Dittmer, Keren Schreurs, Nicola Rogers, Chris Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Bone strength in long bones is dependent on the strain it is exposed to via the forces from locomotion and bodyweight. The two strategies to increase bone strength (and reduce strain) are increasing either bone size or bone density. However, puberty initiates growth plate closure and, after puberty, most bone growth ceases. In many species, sex and age affect the relationship between bone strength and liveweight. The aim of this study was to examine how bone strength in two different limb bones was affected by age and sex in beef-cross-dairy cattle. The metacarpus and humerus was collected at time of slaughter and scanned using a peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scanner to obtain measures of bone size and morphology from three cohorts of beef-cross-dairy cattle. Age, sex and live weight were also recorded. Live weight was the main predictor of bone size and strength, but age and sex influenced this relationship. This was reflected in heifers having a metacarpus that was shorter with less cross-sectional area and bone content than steers of the same liveweight and limited differences between steers and bulls of the same liveweight. At the same bone size older animals were heavier demonstrating an effect of age on bone maturity. ABSTRACT: In cattle, limited data have been reported about the relationship between live weight, bone size, and strength and how this relationship can be altered by factors such as sex and age. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship of peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT)-derived parameters of bone strength and morphology with live weight, age and sex in beef-cross-dairy cattle. All animals were weighed the day before slaughter. The metacarpus and humerus were collected at slaughter and scanned at the mid-diaphysis using pQCT. Live weight was the primary explanatory variable for bone size and strength in all cohorts. However, the effect of age was significant, such that magnitude of response to liveweight was less in the 24-month-old cohort. Sex was significant within cohorts in that bulls had a shorter metacarpus than steers and heifers had a shorter metacarpus than steers at age of slaughter. MDPI 2021-03-05 /pmc/articles/PMC8000514/ /pubmed/33807501 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11030694 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) ).
spellingShingle Article
Gibson, Michaela
Hickson, Rebecca
Back, Penny
Dittmer, Keren
Schreurs, Nicola
Rogers, Chris
The Effect of Sex and Age on Bone Morphology and Strength in the Metacarpus and Humerus in Beef-Cross-Dairy Cattle
title The Effect of Sex and Age on Bone Morphology and Strength in the Metacarpus and Humerus in Beef-Cross-Dairy Cattle
title_full The Effect of Sex and Age on Bone Morphology and Strength in the Metacarpus and Humerus in Beef-Cross-Dairy Cattle
title_fullStr The Effect of Sex and Age on Bone Morphology and Strength in the Metacarpus and Humerus in Beef-Cross-Dairy Cattle
title_full_unstemmed The Effect of Sex and Age on Bone Morphology and Strength in the Metacarpus and Humerus in Beef-Cross-Dairy Cattle
title_short The Effect of Sex and Age on Bone Morphology and Strength in the Metacarpus and Humerus in Beef-Cross-Dairy Cattle
title_sort effect of sex and age on bone morphology and strength in the metacarpus and humerus in beef-cross-dairy cattle
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8000514/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33807501
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11030694
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