The relationship between circulating osteoprotegerin levels and bone mineral metabolism in healthy women.
OBJECTIVE
Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a recently identified cytokine that acts as a decoy receptor for the RANK ligand. Moreover, OPG has been shown to be an important inhibitor of osteoclastogenesis in animal models. However, the relationship between circulating OPG levels and female bone status in human populations is unclear. In this study we undertook to investigate the relationship between circulating OPG levels and bone mineral metabolism in healthy women.


METHODS
Our subjects were 287 women aged 37-73 years (mean age 51.5 years). The serum concentrations of OPG were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The biochemical markers of bone turnover and FSH were measured using standard methods. Bone mineral densities at the lumbar spine and femoral neck were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.


RESULTS
Postmenopausal women had a significantly higher mean value of serum OPG than premenopausal women (1358.5 +/- 32.5 pg/ml vs. 1228.8 +/- 33.3 pg/ml, P < 0.01). Serum OPG levels were positively correlated with age (r = 0.169, P < 0.01), as were urine deoxypyridinoline levels (r = 0.133, P < 0.05) and serum FSH levels (r = 0.187, P < 0.01) in a bivariate correlation analyses. In a multiple regression analysis, only urine calcium excretion was identified as a significant predictor for serum OPG levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Circulating OPG levels were found to be associated with urine calcium excretion and menopause in healthy women. Our observations suggest that circulating OPG levels reflect an antiresorptive activity in bone, and they are related to endogenous oestrogen levels.
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Chunchon, Korea. okwendo@yahoo.co.kr
Ki Won
KW
Oh
Eun Jung
EJ
Rhee
Won Young
WY
Lee
San Woo
SW
Kim
Eun Sook
ES
Oh
Ki Hyun
KH
Baek
Moo Il
MI
Kang
Moon Gi
MG
Choi
Hyung Joon
HJ
Yoo
Sung Woo
SW
Park
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000652:urine; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005272:Femur Neck / Q000378:metabolism; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D008903:Minerals / Q000378:metabolism*; D053244:Osteoprotegerin; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000378:metabolism; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000097:blood*
D000596:Amino Acids; D015415:Biomarkers; D008903:Minerals; D053244:Osteoprotegerin; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; C506030:TNFRSF11B protein, human; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone; C036020:deoxypyridinoline