Effect of Manganese Upon the Epiphyseal Growth Plate in the Young Chick

IT is well established that manganese is essential for normal bone development in the young chick. Early investigations, designed to study the mechanism of action of this nutrient, indicated that manganese deficiency did not greatly affect calcification. More recent evidence suggests that manganese is required for proper formation of the organic matrix of cartilage and bones. Wolbach and Hegsted (1953) reported that manganese deficiency retarded endochondral bone formation. These authors felt that the skeletal manifestations of perosis resulted from retardation or suppression of epiphyseal cartilage sequences, including matrix formation and cell proliferation, growth and maturation. Evidence that manganese is essential for proper matrix formation was provided by Leach and Muenster (1962) who reported that tissues from manganese-deficient chicks had a reduced chondroitin sulfate content. Of the tissues studied, the epiphyseal plate showed the greatest reduction in this matrix constituent. This report presents further evidence in support of the above observations.