Mechanisms of Ageing and Development
102 (1998) 293–298
Serum -2 microglobulin is a marker of high bone
remodelling in elderly women
Jose ´ Manuel Quesada
a,
*, Jesus Alonso
a
, Jose Gonzalez
a
,
Rafael Mun ˜oz
a
, Ivo Jans
b
, Antonio Martiu
a
, Roger Bouillon
b
a
Unidad de Metabolismo Mineral, Hospital Uniersitario ‘Reina Sofı ´a’,
Facultad de Medicina y Departamento de Biologı ´a Celular, Uniersidad de Co ´rdoba,
14004 Co ´rdoba, Spain
b
Laboratorium oor Experimentele Geneeskunde en Endocrinologie, Katholieke Uniersiteit Leuen,
B-3000 Leuen, Belgium
Received 27 August 1997; received in revised form 20 November 1997; accepted 4 January 1998
Abstract
-2 microglobulin ( 2m), the water soluble extrinsic light chain of class I MHC, has been
recently isolated from the adult bone culture medium. Serum 2m plays a role as a
bone-derived growth factor regulating both osteoblast and osteoclast cell activity. Serum
2m has been proposed as a bone remodeling biological marker in high bone turnover
conditions. The purpose of our study was to determine the relationship between 2m and
vitamin D status in post-menopausal women. We have studied 44 healthy women from 20 to
80 years with normal hepatic and renal function, without diabetes mellitus and/or inflamma-
tory, tumoral or infectious diseases. We measured the serum levels of calcium, phosphorus,
parathyroid hormone (PTH), vitamin D binding protein (DBP), 25-OHD
3
(calcidiol),
1,25(OH)
2
D
3
(calcitriol) and 2m. Serum 2m levels increased with age (r =0.54, P
0.001). Post-menopausal women had higher serum levels than pre-menopausal women of
2m (1.76 0.22 mg/l vs. 1.35 0.2 mg/l, P 0.01); PTH (61.5 7.5 ng/ml vs. 39 6
ng/ml, P 0.001) and lower serum levels of 25-OHD
3
(7.5 2.3 ng/ml vs. 18.2 2.5 ng/ml,
P 0.001). Moreover, serum levels of 2m were negatively correlated with 25-OHD
3
(r =-0.34, P 0.05) and with ionized calcium (r =-0.45, P 0.01) and positively with
* Corresponding author, Unidad de Metabolismo Mineral, Hospital Provincial, Hospital Universi-
tario ‘Reina Sofı ´a’, Avda. Mene ´ndez Pidal s/n, 14004 Co ´ rdoba, Spain.
0047-6374/98/$19.00 © 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII S0047-6374(98)00019-0