Serum sclerostin concentration reflects bone turnover and glycation in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective: The risk of fracture is higher in people with than without diabetes. Because bone mineral density is not a good predictive marker of bone strength in people with diabetes, another surrogate is needed. Sclerostin is an inhibitor of bone formation and is secreted mainly by osteocytes. This study was performed to clarify how the serum sclerostin concentration reflects bone turnover in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: We measured the serum sclerostin concentration and other bone turnover markers in 49 patients with type 2 diabetes (26 men and 23 postmenopausal women). The osteo-sono assessment index was measured using ultrasonography at the calcaneus. Results: In men, the serum sclerostin concentration was significantly correlated with age, homocysteine, and pentosidine, reflecting an accumulation of advanced glycation end products in the bone. The multiple regression analysis showed that the serum pentosidine concentration was associated with the serum sclerostin concentration in men with type 2 diabetes. In contrast, sclerostin was not significantly correlated with pentosidine or other bone turnover markers in women with type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: The serum sclerostin concentration seems to increase in accordance with the accumulation of advanced glycation end products in patients with type 2 diabetes and might reflect the bone quality in men with diabetes.

Keywords

• sclerostin
• type 2 diabetes
• bone turnover
• osteoporosis