title: Plasma sphingosine 1-phosphate levels and the risk of vertebral fracture in postmenopausal women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) plays diverse roles in bone metabolism, the most prominent role seems to be the augmentation of bone resorption.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to investigate the possibility of using S1P as a predictor for osteoporotic vertebral fracture (VF) risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a case-control study conducted in a clinical unit in Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-nine cases having radiological VF and 69 age- and body mass index-matched controls among 460 eligible postmenopausal women participated in the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lateral thoracolumbar radiographs, bone mineral density (BMD), bone turnover markers, and plasma S1P levels were obtained from all subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  S1P levels were markedly higher in subjects with VF (7.49±3.44 μmol/liter) than in those without VF (5.58±2.01 μmol/liter; P=0.001) and increased in a dose-response manner as the number of VF increased (P for the trend<0.001), even after adjustment for lumbar spine BMD and potential confounders. The odds ratio for VF was markedly higher in subjects in the highest S1P quartile category compared with those in the lowest S1P quartile category after adjustment for confounders (odds ratio 9.33, 95% confidence interval 2.68-32.49). S1P levels were inversely correlated with BMD at various sites (P=0.015 to 0.044), whereas they were positively correlated with bone resorption markers (P=0.016 to 0.098).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that plasma S1P may be a potential biomarker for the risk of VF, independent of BMD, in postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 388-1 Poongnap2-Dong, Songpa-Gu, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Beom-Jun
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jung-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Sun-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young-Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seung Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyeong-Hye
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Eun-Hee
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Sang-Wook
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tae-Ho
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Shin-Yoon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ghi Su
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008246:Lysophospholipids / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011859:Radiography; D012307:Risk Factors; D013110:Sphingosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
chemical_list: D008246:Lysophospholipids; C060506:sphingosine 1-phosphate; D013110:Sphingosine