Excessive mineralization with growth plate closure in rats on chronic warfarin treatment.

Rats maintained for 8 months on a level of warfarin sufficient to decrease the vitamin K-dependent protein of bone (bone Gla protein) to 2% of normal have an excessive mineralization disorder characterized by complete fusion of the proximal tibial growth plate and cessation of longitudinal growth. The general features of this abnormality resemble the fetal warfarin syndrome in humans, a disorder also characterized by excessive mineralization of the growth plate. These excessive mineralization disorders may be caused by the decreased levels of bone Gla protein, a protein that potently inhibits mineralization in vitro.