| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2009: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Fiscal Year 2008: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
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| Research Abstract |
Vitamin D plays an important role in regulation of calciumhomeostasis and bone metabolism. Among vitamin D metabolites, 25-hydroxyvitamin D 25-OH-D) can be used for the evaluation of vitamin D nutritional status. Vitamin D insufficiency is one of the risk factors of osteoporosis. Secondary hyperparathyroidism induced by low serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-D), which is a most important nutritional marker to evaluate vitamin D status, results in bone loss and increase of fracture risk. Vitamin K is well known for its role in the synthesis of a number of blood coagulation factors. Vitamin K is also an important factor for bone metabolism via γ-carboxylation of vitamin K-dependent proteins such as osteocalcin (OC) and matrix Gla protein. Low dietary phylloquinone (PK) intake has been shown to be associated with increased hip fracture risk, notably among postmenopausal women. Low dietary PK intake is also associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip and spine in
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pre-and postmenopausal women, and circulating levels of vitamin K1 or K2 were reported to be decreased in patients with hip fracture. However, interaction of vitamin D and vitamin K isnot made clear in bone metabolism. In the present study, we analyzed the relationship ofvitamin D and vitamin K in bone metabolism by targeted gene knockout cells and mice.
To identify the conversion of vitamin Ks to menaquinone-4 (MK-4) on osteoblasts, we synthesized the deuterium-labeled vitamin K compound. We made clear that vitamin Ks derivatives are converted to MK-4 in osteoblasts. Moreover, we synthesized the side-chain modified vitamin K compounds and measured these SXR-dependent transcriptional activities on SXR-target gene promoter. As a result, SXR-dependent transcriptional activity of these compounds were affected by side-chain modification (demethylation and saturation). Further, we investigated the conversion enzyme of vitamin Ks to MK-4 and identified the candidate gene for MK-4 biosynthesis in osteoblasts.
For the research of vitamin D, we created the CYP27B1 gene knockout mice (CYP27B1-KO) which were inherently 1α, 25-D3 deficient and rickets. 1α, 25-D3 appears to have a superior efficacy in reducing incidence of fractures in osteoporotic patients compared to its efficacy in maintaining/increasing bone mass. It would be probable that the incidence of fractures may be further reduced if an active vitamin D analogue possessing potent bone mass-increasing activity were to become available. Based on this idea, a unique analogue of 1α, 25(OH)2D3 of bearing a hydroxypropoxy substituent at the 2β-position of A-ring has been developed in Japan. In this study, the efficacy of this analog in increasing bone mineralization and bone strength was evaluated in CYP27B1-KO.CYP27B1-KO and wild-type mice (WT), after weaning, were orally administered either MCT-vehicle, vitamin D analog (0.25 μg/kg) three times per week for 6 weeks. At 6 weeks after the initiation of administration, the animals were sacrificed and lumbar spines, and femoral bones were excised for immunostaining, taking soft X-ray photographs, microcomputed tomography, mechanical testing, contact microradiography, and histomorphometrical measurements. CYP27B1-KO treated with MCT-vehicle had no serum 1α, 25-D3 and moderate levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. They were growth retarded, hypocalcemic, and had poor bone mineralization and strength compared to WT treated with MCT-vehicle during the experimental period. Treatment with vitamin D analog restored completely at 6 weeks after the initiation of administration compared to WT treated with vitamin D analog. These results suggest that vitamin D analog acts on bone independent of endogenous 1α, 25-D3. Less
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