The Influence of Vitamin D Receptor Genetic Variants on Bone Mineral Density and Osteoporosis in Chinese Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

Growing evidence indicates that the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is an important candidate gene for influencing the development of osteoporosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential association between genetic variants of VDR gene and bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis in Chinese postmenopausal women. The study included 970 Chinese postmenopausal women at the postmenopausal osteoporosis (482) and healthy controls (488). The BMD of lumbar spine (L2–4 anterior-posterior view), femoral neck hip, and total hip was evaluated using the Norland XR-46 dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The genotypes of VDR genetic variants were determined by the created restriction site-PCR (CRS-PCR) and confirmed by DNA sequencing methods. Our data indicated that the VDR p.Glicine (Gly)14 alanine (Ala) and p.histidine (His) 305 glutanine (Gln) genetic variants were statistically associated with adjusted femoral neck hip BMD, adjusted lumbar spine BMD, and adjusted total hip BMD (P values < 0.05). Results from this study suggest that the VDR p.Gly14Ala and p.His305Gln genetic variants are significantly associated with BMD decrease in Chinese postmenopausal women and might be used as molecular markers for assessing the risk of BMD and osteoporosis.

Correlation analysis between 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, vitamin B12 and vitamin C and endothelial function of patients with CHD

“…Under this condition, oxygen and blood supply to myocardial cells is reduced, leading to necrosis or even death (9). Advances in clinical research have shown that Hcy, NO and other substances can reflect impaired coronary vascular endothelial function (10). Hcy is an intermediate product of the metabolism of methionine and cysteine and cannot be synthesized in human body.…”

Lack of association between vitamin D receptor genes BsmI as well as ApaI polymorphisms and osteoporosis risk: A pooled analysis on Chinese individuals

“…VDR modulation influences the expression and transcription of genes involved in bone mass formation and calcium uptake, such as osteocalcin and calcium‐binding proteins . The VDR gene is a polygenetic gene, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of VDR gene could influence the expression and function of VDR protein, which is proven to influence the risk of osteoporosis …”

“…first investigated that VDR genetic variants could predict osteocalcin levels in Caucasian women. Subsequently, a number of studies were conducted to investigate the association between VDR genetic variants (e.g., BsmI [rs1544410], ApaI [rs7975232], Tru9I [rs757343]) and osteoporosis in different ethnic groups, but these studies reported conflicting results . These different results might have been caused by racial and regional differences in the studied patients, as well as by the limitation of the number of patients per study.…”

Vitamin D Receptor Gene Variation, Dietary Intake and Bone Mineral Density in Obese Women: A Cross Sectional Study

“…Consequently, cost-effective intervention policies must urgently be identified in an attempt to minimize the impact of fractures (2). Osteoporosis has been associated with various risk factors, particularly female gender (3), advanced age (4), dietary calcium (5), vitamin D status (6), obesity (7), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (8), stress (9), gastric bypass surgery (10,11), genetic variants (12)(13)(14), alcoholism (15) and smoking habit (16).…”

“…Some studies which were conducted on Caucasian and Asian women suggest that polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene are associated with BMD in postmenopausal women (21). VDR modulation influences the expression and transcription of genes which are involved in bone mass formation and calcium uptake, such as osteocalcin and calcium-binding proteins (22). Polymorphism of the VDR gene alleles may account for the major part of the heritable component of bone density in women, possibly mediated in part by impaired calcium absorption from the bowel (1).…”