Dietary energy, glucocorticoids and the regulation of long bone and muscle growth in the rat.

1. The influence of dietary energy restriction and corticosterone on long bone and muscle growth, and their interrelationships, was studied in rats fed a range of restricted amounts of diets containing increasing concentrations of protein, thus maintaining constant protein intakes. Tibial length and epiphyseal cartilage width were measured radiographically. 2. In experiment 1, tibial length and gastrocnemius muscle growth were examined in ad libitum fed rats and during 4 days of severe energy restriction (25% ad libitum intake), starvation and ad libitum feeding with corticosterone treatment (10 mg/100 g), a mediator of the response to energy restriction. Weight loss occurred in all groups. Tibial growth continued in the 25% and starvation groups albeit at reduced rates with the inhibition of starvation > 25% group (P < 0.05), but was arrested after 2 days of corticosterone treatment. 3. Muscle growth inhibition was proportional to tibial growth inhibition of the 25% group, insofar as the muscle/bone ratio (W/L), was maintained. This inter-relationship between muscle and bone growth previously reported for ad libitum high-protein-fed rats, is likely to reflect the anabolic influence of bone on muscle via passive muscle stretching induced by length growth. For both starvation and corticosterone groups the muscle/bone ratio fell (P < 0.05 compared with the ad libitum group), suggesting that muscle growth inhibition included an additional direct catabolic influence of starvation and corticosterone treatment. 4. In experiment 2, measurements of bone, muscle and liver growth were made in rats fed 75%, or 50% and 25% ad libitum intakes with corticosterone treatment for 8 days.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)