Bone Health & Osteoporosis
Bone Health & Osteoporosis – Biomarkers of Bone Regulation
Maintaining strong and healthy bones is essential for our well-being. Bone not only provides structural support for the body but also protects vital organs and serves as a provider for minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. Bone density and bone strength are key components of bone health.
Osteoporosis is a condition of weakened and fragile bones. It is the most common metabolic bone disease in the world (1) that can affect individuals of various ages, but is more commonly associated with aging. Both men and women can be affected, but postmenopausal women are at higher risk to develop Osteoporosis due to the decline of hormonal estrogen levels which plays a protective role in bone. Prevention of Osteoporosis includes a balanced diet and exercise.
Bone remodeling is a continuous process that is tightly regulated between bone resorption of old or damaged bone and the formation of new bone. Various hormones and factors are involved in bone metabolism. The bone cycle consists of different phases and markers of bone metabolism can be categorized as markers of bone formation, markers of bone resorption and markers of the regulation of bone metabolism.
Bone Health & Osteoporosis – biomarkers of bone regulation
Protein biomarkers are often used in clinical research or clinical settings to assess bone health and to monitor the effectiveness of Osteoporosis treatments. Some of these biomarkers provide information about the regulatory processes involved in bone metabolism and turnover.
Monitoring these biomarkers can provide information on the overall health of bones. Some of these regulatory biomarkers include:
- Sclerostin (SOST) – is produced by osteocytes, bone cells embedded in the bone. Sclerostin is a bone specific Wnt pathway inhibitor, that negatively regulates bone formation, by promoting osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption (3). Elevated Sclerostin levels may indicate decreased bone formation.
- Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) – is like Sclerostin an inhibitor of Wnt signaling, which is crucial for bone formation. Elevated serum DKK-1 promote bone resorption (4). DKK-1 levels may indicated suppressed bone formation.
- Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-Kappa B Ligand (RANKL) – is a key regulator of osteoclast activation and formation. RANKL promotes bone resorption by activating the bone osteoclasts. RANKL is secreted by osteocytes and is the most important factor of osteoclast formation (5).
- Osteoprotegerin (OPG) – is the decoy receptor for RANKL. OPG regulates bone resorption (6). Changes in the OPG / RANKL ratio can affect bone remodeling.
- Fibroblast growth factor (FGF23) – is a hormone that regulates phosphate homeostasis and vitamin D metabolism. Abnormal FGF23 levels are associated with disorders affecting bone health e.g. hypophosphatemic rickets (7).
These protein biomarkers can easily be measured in human blood samples with an ELISA assay
BIOMEDICA´s Bone Marker ELISA kits
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Sclerostin (SOST) ELISA (BI-20492)
- Most referenced Sclerostin ELISA +290 citations
- Low sample volume – 20µl / well
- Validation following international guidelines
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Bioactive Sclerostin ELISA (BI-20472)
- Targets the receptor binding region
- Rigorously validated for clinical samples according to FDA/ICH/EMEA guidelines
- Low sample volume – 20 µl of serum/plasma per well
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Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) ELISA (BI-20413)
- Widely cited +170 publications
- Direct measurement
- Validated following international guidelines
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Osteoprotegerin (OPG) ELISA (BI-20403)
- most referenced human OPG ELISA in +250 citations
- day test, ready to use color coded reagents
- controls included
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Free soluble RANKL ELISA (BI-20462)
- Highly sensitive – measurable concentrations in healthy subjects
- Only ELISA that measures free, uncomplexed soluble RANKL
- Cited in over +300 citations
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FGF23 c-terminal multi-matrix ELISA (BI-20702)
- for serum and plasma samples
- full validation
- cited in +50 publications
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- for serum and plasma samples
- full validation
- one-step ELISA
Literature
- The clinician’s guide to prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. LeBoff MS et al., Osteoporos Int. 2022 Oct;33(10):2049-2102. doi: 10.1007/s00198-021-05900-y.
- Role of Wnt signaling and sclerostin in bone and as therapeutic targets in skeletal disorders. Marini F et al., Osteoporos Int. 2023 Feb;34(2):213-238. doi: 10.1007/s00198-022-06523-7.
- Inflammation and Bone Metabolism in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Molecular Mechanisms of Joint Destruction and Pharmacological Treatments. Maeda K et al., Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Mar 6;23(5):2871. doi: 10.3390/ijms23052871.
- Osteocyte-Related Cytokines Regulate Osteoclast Formation and Bone Resorption. Kitaura H et al., Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jul 21;21(14):5169. doi: 10.3390/ijms21145169.
- The Role of Osteoprotegerin in Vascular Calcification and Bone Metabolism: The Basis for Developing New Therapeutics. Rochette L et al., Calcif Tissue Int. 2019 Sep;105(3):239-251. doi: 10.1007/s00223-019-00573-6.
- FGF23-related hypophosphatemic rickets/osteomalacia: diagnosis and new treatment. Fukumoto S. J Mol Endocrinol. 2021 Feb;66(2):R57-R65. doi: 10.1530/JME-20-0089.