Relationship between serum osteoprotegerin levels and bone mineral metabolism in women / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a recently identified cytokine that acts as a decoy receptor for the RANK ligand. OPG has been shown to be an important inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis in animal models. The relationship between circulating OPG levels and female bone status in human populations is unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between circulating OPG levels and bone mineral metabolism in Korean women. METHODS: ubjects were 287 women aged 37~73 (mean age, 51.5 yr). Serum concentrations of OPG were determined by ELISA. Biochemical markers of bone turnover and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured by standard methods. Bone mineral density at lumbar spine and femur neck were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: e observed a significant positive association between circulating OPG levels and urine calcium excretion (r=0.128; p<0.05). Although circulating OPG levels were not significantly correlated to urine deoxypyridinoline levels (r=0.105; p=0.076), but there was a weak trend in it. We found that mean OPG levels were about 11% greater in postmenopausal women (mean +/- SD, 1358.5 +/- 380.0 pg/mL) than in premenopausal women (1228.8 +/- 407.7 pg/mL; p<0.001). There was a significant positive relationship between circulating OPG levels and serum FSH levels (r=0.172; p<0.01). There was a non-significant relationship between circulating OPG levels and bone mineral density at lumbar spine and femur neck. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our data shows that the circulating OPG levels are associated with urine calciumexcretion and serum FSH levels in Korean women. These data suggest that OPG may be an important paracrine mediator of female bone metabolism in human populations.