Abstract
The maternal skeleton undergoes dramatic bone loss during pregnancy and lactation, and substantial bone recovery post-weaning. The structural adaptations of maternal bone during reproduction and lactation exert a better protection of the mechanical integrity at the critical load-bearing sites, suggesting the importance of physiological load-bearing in regulating reproduction-induced skeletal alterations. Although it is suggested that physical exercise during pregnancy and breastfeeding improves women's physical and psychological well-being, its effects on maternal bone health remain unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the maternal bone adaptations to external mechanical loading during pregnancy, lactation, and post-weaning recovery. By utilizing an in vivo dynamic tibial loading protocol in a rat model, we demonstrated improved maternal cortical bone structure in response to dynamic loading at tibial midshaft, regardless of reproductive status. Notably, despite the minimal loading responses detected in the trabecular bone in virgins, rat bone during lactation experienced enhanced mechano-responsiveness in both trabecular and cortical bone compartments when compared to rats at other reproductive stages or age-matched virgins. Furthermore, our study showed that the lactation-induced elevation in osteocyte peri-lacunar/canalicular remodeling (PLR) activities led to enlarged osteocyte lacunae. This may result in alterations in interstitial fluid flow-mediated mechanical stimulation on osteocytes and an elevation in solute transport through the lacunar-canalicular system (LCS) during high-frequency dynamic loading, thus enhancing mechano-responsiveness of maternal bone during lactation. Taken together, findings from this study provide important insights into the relationship between reproduction- and lactation-induced skeletal changes and external mechanical loading, emphasizing the importance of weight-bearing exercise on maternal bone health during reproduction and postpartum.