Author/Editor		Skvarča, Aleš; Godnič, Matej
Title		Primarna biliarna ciroza in osteoporoza: vpliv polimorfizmov gena za osteoprotegerin
Type		monografija
Place		Ljubljana
Publisher		Medicinska fakulteta
Publication year		2003
Volume		str. 40
Language		slo
Abstract		BACKGROUND. Osteoporosis is a common complication of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Osteoporosis is defined as a reduction of bone mineral density (BMD) value more than 2,5 standard deviations below the young adult mean value. Recently, three proteins that regulate differentiation and activation of osteoclasts were discovered. These are receptor activator of nuclear factor xB (RANK), RANK ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG). OPG acts as a decoy receptor for RANKL and thereby, by preventing its linkage to RANK, inhibits osteoclastogenesis. A correlation between OPG gene polymorphisms and osteoporosis has also been found. AIM. Genetic factors as possible predictors of bone loss in patients with PBC were explored only recently. The aim of our research was to determine the influence of OPG gene polymorphisms on BMD in patients with PBC. No such data has been published yet. HYPOTHESIS. Our hypothesis was: occurrence of osteoporosis in patients with PBC is associated with OPG gene polymorphisms. METHODS. In our study twenty-seven (27) patients with PBC were evaluated. All of them were treated with ursodeoxycholic acid, but none of them had previously taken any drugs known to influence bone metabolism, except calcium and vitamin D. Clinical examination and biochemical tests were performed. BMD was measured with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in lumbal area and left hip. For OPG gene polymorphisms analysis deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes. For OPG gene polymorphisms analysis fragments of DNA were multiplied with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Afterwards, genotypes were determined with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). CTX-I/OC (cross-linked C-terminal telopeptides of colagen type I/osteocalcin) ratio was calculated in all patients to define their bone turnover. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters).
Descriptors		LIVER CIRRHOSIS, BILIARY OSTEOPOROSIS POLYMORPHISM (GENETICS) BONE DENSITY RECEPTORS, CALCITRIOL POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION POLYMORPHISM, RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH GENOTYPE DENSITOMETRY, X-RAY