Association of genetic polymorphisms of GALNT3 and VDR with osteoporosis in postmenopausal women

Discovery of potential active ingredients of Er-Zhi-Wan, a famous traditional Chinese formulation, in model rat serum for treating osteoporosis with kidney-yin deficiency by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS and molecular docking

Er-Zhi-Wan (EZW), a classical traditional Chinese formulation, has attracted more and more attention. This study was carried out to analyze the constituents of EZW absorbed into blood and find out the potential active ingredients for treating osteoporosis (OP) with kidney-yin deficiency (KYD). The rat model of OP with KYD was achieved by ovariectomies and using the mixture of thyroxine and reserpine. Then ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) combined with statistical analysis was used to analyze the constituents of EZW absorbed into blood and differential components between the normal and OP with KYD rats. Finally, the components identified in OP with KYD rats were docked with targets of OP with KYD found in online databases. The results of molecular docking were adopted to find the potential active ingredients and further verified in vitro experiment. A total of 21 prototype compounds and 69 metabolites were identified in serum. Among them, 63 components in model rats and 50 components in normal rats were summarized, respectively. Most of the identified metabolites in serum of model rats were produced by hydrolysis, oxidation or glucuronidation, while in serum of normal rats were produced by hydrolysis, oxidation and methylation. According to the results of molecular docking, specnuezhenide, salidroside, tyrosol, echinacoside and verbascoside could be classified as potential active ingredients. The activity of salidroside and a metabolite was verified by pharmacodynamics analysis. In summary, UPLC-Q/TOF-MS system was combined with molecular docking to search the potential active ingredients from model rats of OP with KYD, which provided a new idea for the research on the pharmacodynamic material basis of other traditional medicine. Moreover, the result of this study lays the foundation for further study regarding the mechanism of EZW in treating OP with KYD.

Relationship between rs7586085, GALNT3 and CCDC170 gene polymorphisms and the risk of osteoporosis among the Chinese Han population

Osteoporosis (OP) has plagued many women for years, and bone density loss is an indicator of OP. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the polymorphism of the rs7586085, CCDC170 and GALNT3 gene polymorphisms and the risk of OP in the Chinese Han population. Using the Agena MassArray method, we identified six candidate SNPs on chromosomes 2 and 6 in 515 patients with OP and 511 healthy controls. Genetic model analysis was performed to evaluate the significant association between variation and OP risk, and meanwhile, the multiple tests were corrected by false discovery rate (FDR). Haploview 4.2 was used for haplotype analysis. In stratified analysis of BMI ˃ 24, rs7586085, rs6726821, rs6710518, rs1346004, and rs1038304 were associated with the risk of OP based on the results of genetic models among females even after the correction of FDR (qd < 0.05). In people at age ≤ 60 years, rs1038304 was associated with an increased risk of OP under genetic models after the correction of FDR (qd < 0.05). Our study reported that GALNT3 and CCDC170 gene polymorphisms and rs7586085 are the effective risk factors for OP in the Chinese Han population.

Association of vitamin D receptor ApaI gene polymorphism with osteoporosis susceptibility in postmenopausal Han Chinese women in Xinjiang

Osteoporosis is a polygenic disorder and has been demonstrated to be associated with ~30 candidate genes, the majority of which have also been implicated in the regulation of bone mineral density (BMD). Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is the candidate gene that has been most extensively studied. Certain studies have reported that the VDR single nucleotide polymorphism ApaI is associated with the risk of osteoporosis in Caucasian and African women. However, this association has not yet been studied in postmenopausal Han Chinese women in the Xinjiang area. In the present study, ApaI polymorphisms of VDR were defined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, in order to analyze the distribution of ApaI polymorphisms in postmenopausal Han Chinese women from Xinjiang. BMD was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine (L2-4), Ward's triangle, great trochanter and femoral shaft. A total of 336 women were included in this study. The genotype distribution of ApaI was consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (all P>0.05). There were no significant differences in ApaI genotype frequencies between the 90 cases in the osteoporosis group and 246 cases in the non-osteoporosis group (P=0.946). Meanwhile, it was identified that BMD values of the tested locations were negatively correlated with age (P<0.05) and positively correlated with body mass index (BMI; P<0.05). On further attribution risk analysis, BMD was identified as a risk factor [odds ratio (OR): 0.464, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.372-0.580, P=0.001] and BMI a protective factor (OR: 1.502, 95% CI: 1.008-2.240, P=0.032) in osteoporosis. When BMD was adjusted for confounding factors including age and BMI, it was observed that the ApaI polymorphism was not associated with BMD at the sites tested (P>0.05). In conclusion, the present study identified no significant association of the common VDR polymorphism ApaI with BMD at several skeletal sites in postmenopausal Han Chinese women in the Xinjiang area. Age was negatively correlated with BMD at different sites and identified as a risk factor; while BMI was positively correlated with BMD and identified as a protective factor.