The Effects of Osteoprotegerin Polymorphism on Bone Mineral Metabolism in Korean Women with Perimenopause / 대한내분비학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Osteoprotegerin(OPG) is a recently identified cytokine, which acts as a decoy receptor for the receptor activator of the NF-kappaB ligand(RANKL), and has also been shown to be an important inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis in animal models. However, the relationship between OPG gene polymorphism and female bone stati in human populations is unclear. In this study, the relationship between OPG gene polymorphisms and bone mineral metabolism in healthy Korean women was investigated. METHODS: We observed 251 healthy women(mean age, 51.3+/-6.9 yr). The serum OPG concentrations were determined using ELISA, and the biochemical markers of bone turnover and FSH measured using standard methods. The bone mineral densities at the lumbar spine and femoral neck were measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. The A163G, G209A, T245G and T950C polymorphisms of the OPG gene were analyzed by allelic discrimination using the 5 nuclease polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS: The lumbar spine BMD of premenopausal women was marginally decreased in the variant allele group compared to the wild type group(A163G, 0.98+/-0.14g/cm2[GG+GA] vs. 1.05+/- 0.15g/cm2[AA], P =0.070; T245G, 0.97+/-0.13g/cm2[GG+GT] vs. 1.04+/-0.15g/cm2[TT], P=0.056). In the linkage of polymorphisms A163G and T245G, the lumbar spine BMD of premenopausal women was marginally decreased in the variant allele group compared to the wild type group([AATT] vs. [AGTG+AGGG+GGTG+GGGG]: 1.04+/-0.15 vs. 0.97+/- 0.13; P=0.072). However, there were no differences in the serum OPG levels and bone turnover markers among the different genotypes. CONCLUSION: The A163G and T245G polymorphisms of the OPG gene were observed to be marginally associated with the lumbar spine BMD in healthy premenopausal Korean women, but further studies will be needed to clarify this relationship