Daily treatment with alendronate progressively increases the bone mass in the spine, hip, and total body and reduces the incidence of vertebral fractures, the progression of vertebral deformities, and height loss in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

The synthesis of bioactive vitamin D requires hydroxylation at the 1␣ and 25 positions by cytochrome P450 enzymes in the kidney and liver, respectively. The mitochondrial enzyme CYP27B1 catalyzes 1␣-hydroxylation in the kidney but the identity of the hepatic 25-hydroxylase has remained unclear for >30 years. We previously identified the microsomal CYP2R1 protein as a potential candidate for the liver vitamin D 25-hydroxylase based on the enzyme's biochemical properties, conservation, and expression pattern. Here, we report a molecular analysis of a patient with low circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and classic symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. This individual was found to be homozygous for a transition mutation in exon 2 of the CYP2R1 gene on chromosome 11p15.2. The inherited mutation caused the substitution of a proline for an evolutionarily conserved leucine at amino acid 99 in the CYP2R1 protein and eliminated vitamin D 25-hydroxylase enzyme activity. These data identify CYP2R1 as a biologically relevant vitamin D 25-hydroxylase and reveal the molecular basis of a human genetic disease, selective 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency.T he metabolic pathway leading to the synthesis of active vitamin D involves three reactions that occur in different tissues (1). The pathway is initiated in the skin with the UV light-mediated cleavage of 5,7,-cholestadien-3␤-ol to produce the secosteroid (3␤,5Z,7E)-9,10-secocholesta-5,7,10(19)-trien-3-ol (vitamin D 3 ). The second step occurs in the liver and is catalyzed by a cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme that hydroxylates carbon 25, producing the intermediate 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 , which is the major circulatory form of the vitamin. The third and final step takes place in the kidney and involves 1␣-hydroxylation by another CYP, producing 1␣,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 . This product is a potent ligand of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and mediates most of the physiological actions of the vitamin (1).Although the chemical and enzymatic steps in the vitamin D 3 biosynthetic pathway have been known for 30 years (1), the enzyme catalyzing the 25-hydroxylation step in the liver has never been identified. At least six CYPs can catalyze this reaction in vitro, including CYP2C11, CYP2D25, CYP3A4, CYP2J1, CYP27A1, and CYP2R1 (2-4). Of these CYPs, the two most viable candidates for the vitamin D 25-hydroxylase are CYP27A1 and CYP2R1 (2). Both enzymes are expressed in the liver and are conserved among species known to have an active vitamin D signaling pathway. However, mutations in the human and mouse genes encoding the mitochondrial CYP27A1 protein impair bile acid synthesis, but have no consequences for vitamin D metabolism (5-9). It is thus not clear whether the two vitamin D 3 25-hydroxylases represent an example of biological redundancy in an important biosynthetic pathway or whether CYP2R1 alone or some unidentified enzyme fulfills this essential role.In contrast to the uncertainty surrounding vitamin D 3 25-hydroxylase, the renal enzyme responsible for 1␣-hydroxylation of the vitamin...

Serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (PTH) is increased in obese as compared with nonobese subjects and declines with weight loss. To

Previous studies demonstrated decreases in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in obese subjects. Studies were carried out to determine whiter serum vitamin D is low in obesity. The results indicate that serum vitamin D is significantly lower in obese than in nonobese individuals and may contribute to lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in obesity.

As compared with values in white subjects, bone mass is known to be increased and urinary calcium to be diminished in black individuals. To evaluate the possibility that these changes are associated with alterations in the vitamin Dendocrine system, an investigation was performed in 12 black subjects, 7 men and 5 women, and 14 white subjects, 8 men and 6 women, ranging in age from 20 to 35 yr. All of them were hospitalized on a metabolic ward and were given a constant daily diet containing 400 mg of calcium, 900 mg of phosphorus, and 110 meq of sodium. Whereas mean serum calcium, ionized calcium, and phosphate were the same in the two groups, mean serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (350±34 vs. 225±26 pg/ml, P < 0.01) and mean serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) (41±3 vs. 29±2 pg/ml, P < 0.01) were significantly higher, and mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) was significantly lower in the blacks than in the whites (6±1 vs. 20±2 ng/ml, P < 0.001). Mean urinary sodium and 24-h creatinine clearance were the same in the two groups, whereas mean urinary calcium was significantly lower (101±14 vs. 166±13 mg/d, P < 0.01) and mean urinary cyclic AMP was significantly higher (3.11±0.47 vs. 1.84±0.25 nM/dl glomerular filtrate, P < 0.01) in the blacks. Further, the blacks excreted an intravenous calcium load, 15 mg/kg body weight, as efficiently as the whites (49±3 vs. 53±3%, NS). Mean serum Gla protein was lower in blacks than in whites (14±2 vs. 24±3 ng/ml, P < 0.02), and increased significantly in both groups in response to 1,25(OH)2D3, 4

The bisphosphonate alendronate and conjugated equine estrogens are both widely used for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Acting by different mechanisms, these two agents decrease bone resorption and thereby increase or preserve bone mineral density (BMD). The comparative and combined effects of these medications have not been rigorously studied. This prospective, double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial examined the effects of oral alendronate and conjugated estrogen, in combination and separately, on BMD, biochemical markers of bone turnover, safety, and tolerability in 425 hysterectomized postmenopausal women with low bone mass. In addition, bone biopsy with histomorphometry was performed in a subset of subjects. Treatment included placebo, alendronate (10 mg daily), conjugated equine estrogen (CEE; 0.625 mg daily), or alendronate (10 mg daily) plus CEE (0.625 mg daily) for 2 yr. All of the women received a supplement of 500 mg calcium daily. At 2 yr, placebo-treated patients showed a mean 0.6% loss in lumbar spine BMD, compared with mean increases in women receiving alendronate, CEE, and alendronate plus CEE of 6.0% (P < 0.001 vs. placebo), 6.0% (P < 0.001 vs. placebo), and 8.3% (P < 0.001 vs. placebo and CEE; P = 0.022 vs. alendronate), respectively. The corresponding changes in total proximal femur bone mineral density were +4.0%, +3.4%, +4.7%, and +0.3% for the alendronate, estrogen, alendronate plus estrogen, and placebo groups, respectively. Both alendronate and CEE significantly decreased biochemical markers of bone turnover, specifically urinary N-telopeptide of type I collagen and serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase. The alendronate plus CEE combination produced slightly greater decreases in these markers than either treatment alone, but the mean absolute values remained within the normal premenopausal range. Alendronate, alone or in combination with CEE, was well tolerated. In the subset of patients who underwent bone biopsies, histomorphometry showed normal bone histology with the expected decrease in bone turnover, which was somewhat more pronounced in the combination group. Thus, alendronate and estrogen produced favorable effects on BMD. Combined use of alendronate and estrogen produced somewhat larger increases in BMD than either agent alone and was well tolerated.

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At physiologic inputs, there is rapid conversion of precursor to product at low vitamin D(3) concentrations and a much slower rate of conversion at higher concentrations. These data suggest that, at typical vitamin D(3) inputs and serum concentrations, there is very little native cholecalciferol in the body, and 25(OH)D constitutes the bulk of vitamin D reserves. However, at supraphysiologic inputs, large quantities of vitamin D(3) are stored as the native compound, presumably in body fat, and are slowly released to be converted to 25(OH)D.