Small changes in thermoregulation influence cancellous bone turnover balance in distal femur metaphysis in growing female mice.

When individually housed at room temperature (~22 C) mice experience cold stress which results in cancellous bone loss and has the potential to alter the skeletal response to treatment. It is not clear if there is a threshold temperature for cold stress-induced bone loss.

It is also not clear if alternative strategies for attenuating cold stress, such as group housing, influence bone accrual and turnover. This study aimed to determine how small differences in temperature (4 C) or heat loss (individual versus group housing with nestlets) influence bone in growing female C57BL/6 J mice. Five-week-old mice were randomized by weight to 1 of 4 treatment groups (N equals 10/group): 1) baseline, 2) single housed at 22 C, 3) single housed at 26 C, or 4) group housed (n equals 5/cage) with nestlets at 22 C. Mice in the baseline group were sacrificed 1 week later, at 6 weeks of age.