Serum osteocalcin levels are inversely associated with plasma glucose and body mass index in healthy Chinese women.

Aim: Osteocalcin, a biochemical marker of bone formation, has been suggested to be involved in the regulation of energy metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between serum osteocalcin and markers of glucose and lipid metabolism in a large sample of healthy Chinese women.

Methods: A total of 2032 healthy Chinese women in Shanghai, aged 20-94 (including 1396 discovery-study subjects and 636 postmenopausal women for a reduplication analysis) were recruited.

A novel compound mutation of CYP27B1 in a Chinese family with vitamin D-dependent rickets type 1A.

Objectives: Mutations in the CYP27B1 gene, which encodes vitamin D 1α-hydroxylase, are the genetic basis of vitamin D-dependent rickets type 1A (VDDR1A, MIM 264700). The aim of this study was to investigate a novel CYP27B1 mutation and its clinical manifestations.

Methods: VDDR1A was diagnosed based on clinical presentation, a physical examination, bone characteristics on an X-ray, and laboratory results.

Association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D with insulin resistance and β-cell function in a healthy Chinese female population.

Aim: To assess associations of the serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with insulin resistance and β-cell function in a healthy Chinese female population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1382 female participants free of type 2 diabetes who were recruited in Shanghai. Blood samples were collected within a winter season and the serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, fasting plasma glucose and insulin, and other biochemical parameters were determined.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphism Rs2236518 in PRDM16 gene with BMI in Chinese males.

Aim: PRD1-BF-1-RIZ1 homologous domain containing protein-16 (PRDM16) is a cell-autonomous transcriptional component that stimulates the development of brown fat cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of genetic variants of PRDM16 to obesity-related phenotype variations in Chinese.

Methods: A total of 3204 subjects (consisting of 400 male-offspring nuclear families, 401 female-offspring nuclear families, and 729 unrelated older males) were recruited.

High prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in China: relationship with the levels of parathyroid hormone and markers of bone turnover.

There is a lack of large-scale studies on vitamin D status and its relationship to parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone turnover markers in adults living in Shanghai. The objectives were to determine the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in Shanghai and to investigate the relationship of 25(OH)D with parathyroid function and bone turnover markers. This cross-sectional study involved 649 men and 1939 women aged 20-89 years who were randomly sampled in Shanghai.

A novel VCP mutation as the cause of atypical IBMPFD in a Chinese family.

Introduction: Inclusion-body myopathy (IBM) with Paget's disease of bone (PDB) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), designated as IBMPFD, is a rare, autosomal dominant disorder (MIM 605382). IBMPFD is caused by mutations in the gene that encode valosin-containing protein (VCP). We investigated a Chinese family in which multiple members were diagnosed with PDB and suffered from weakness of the limbs.

Susceptibility genes for osteoporotic fracture in postmenopausal Chinese women.

To identify the susceptibility genes for osteoporotic fracture in postmenopausal Chinese women, a two-stage case-control association study using joint analysis was conducted in 1046 patients with nontraumatic vertebra, hip, or distal radius fractures and 2303 healthy controls. First, 113 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 16 potential osteoporosis candidate genes reported in recent genomewide association studies, meta-analyses studies, large-scale association studies, and functional studies were genotyped in a small-sample-size subgroup consisting of 541 patients with osteoporotic fractures and 554 healthy controls. Variants and haplotypes in SPTBN1, TNFRSF11B, CNR2, LRP4, and ESR1 that have been identified as being associated with osteoporotic fractures were further reanalyzed in the entire case-control group.

Lean mass predicts hip geometry and bone mineral density in chinese men and women and age comparisons of body composition.

Previous studies have suggested that changes in hip geometry increase the risk of hip fracture. The aim of this study was to identify whether body composition were associated with hip geometry or bone mineral density (BMD) in a large sample of Chinese people. A total of 2072 subjects aged 20-79 yr (including 700 males and 1372 females) were selected.

Thirteen Chinese patients with sporadic Paget's disease of bone: clinical features, SQSTM1 mutation identification, and functional analysis.

To increase awareness of the rarity of Paget's disease of bone (PDB) in the Chinese population, we characterized the clinical manifestations and features of 13 Chinese sporadic PDB patients. The clinical features of our Chinese PDB patients show similarities with cases reported in Western countries. The most common lesion sites were the pelvis, femur, and tibia; the next most common lesion sites were the spine and skull.

Contribution of myostatin gene polymorphisms to normal variation in lean mass, fat mass and peak BMD in Chinese male offspring.

Aim: Myostatin gene is a member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family that negatively regulates skeletal muscle growth. Genetic polymorphisms in Myostatin were found to be associated with the peak bone mineral density (BMD) in Chinese women. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether myostatin played a role in the normal variation in peak BMD, lean mass (LM), and fat mass (FM) of Chinese men.

Association of ALOX15 gene polymorphisms with obesity-related phenotypes in Chinese nuclear families with male offspring.

Aim: Genetic variation in ALOX12, which encoded human 12-lipoxygenase, was found to be associated with fat mass in young Chinese men. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes in the ALOX15 gene and obesity-related phenotypes in Chinese nuclear families with male offspring.

Methods: We recruited 1,296 subjects from 427 nuclear families with male offspring and genotyped five SNPs (rs9894225, rs748694, rs2619112, rs2619118, and rs916055) in the ALOX15 gene locus.

Identification of the mutations in the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase gene in two Chinese families with hypophosphatasia.

Background And Aims: Hypophosphatasia is a genetic disorder characterized by defective bone and tooth mineralization and a deficiency of serum and bone alkaline phosphatase activity. To date, few studies have identified gene mutations in Chinese patients with hypophosphatasia. We sought to characterize the clinical manifestations and identify the mutations associated with the disease in Chinese hypophosphatasia patients.

Association between low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2 gene polymorphisms and bone mineral density variation in Chinese population.

Low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2 gene (LRP2) is located next to the genomic region showing suggestive linkage with both hip and wrist bone mineral density (BMD) phenotypes. LRP2 knockout mice showed severe vitamin D deficiency and bone disease, indicating the involvement of LRP2 in the preservation of vitamin D metabolites and delivery of the precursor to the kidney for the generation of 1α,25(OH)(2)D(3). In order to investigate the contribution of LRP2 gene polymorphisms to the variation of BMD in Chinese population, a total of 330 Chinese female-offspring nuclear families with 1088 individuals and 400 Chinese male-offspring nuclear families with 1215 individuals were genotyped at six tagSNPs of the LRP2 gene (rs2389557, rs2544381, rs7600336, rs10210408, rs2075252 and rs4667591).

The virulence gene and clinical phenotypes of osteopetrosis in the Chinese population: six novel mutations of the CLCN7 gene in twelve osteopetrosis families.

Osteopetrosis is a heritable bone disorder resulting from a deficiency of or a functional defect in osteoclasts. We aimed to characterize the molecular defects and clinical manifestations in Chinese patients with osteopetrosis by studying 12 unrelated osteopetrosis families. The entire coding region and adjacent splice sites of the CLCN7, TCIRG1, LRP5 and SOST genes were amplified and directly sequenced.

Identification of two novel mutations in the OCRL1 gene in two Chinese families with Lowe syndrome.

Aim: Lowe syndrome is a rare, multisystem, X-linked disorder characterized by anomalies affecting the eyes, the nervous system and the kidneys. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize the clinical manifestations of mutations of the causative gene in two Chinese families with Lowe syndrome.

Methods: Lowe syndrome was diagnosed based on the clinical manifestations and laboratory and imaging findings.

The identification of novel mutations in COL1A1, COL1A2, and LEPRE1 genes in Chinese patients with osteogenesis imperfecta.

Dominant inheritance of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is caused by mutations in COL1A1 or COL1A2, the genes that encode type I collagen, and CRTAP, LEPRE1, PPIB, FKBP10, SERPINH1, and SP7 mutations were recently detected in a minority of patients with autosomal recessive OI. However, these findings have been mostly restricted to Western populations. The proportion of mutations and the correlations between genotype and phenotype in Chinese patients with OI are completely unknown.

No association between polymorphisms and haplotypes of COL1A1 and COL1A2 genes and osteoporotic fracture in postmenopausal Chinese women.

Aim: To study whether genetic polymorphisms of COL1A1 and COL1A2 genes affected the onset of fracture in postmenopausal Chinese women.

Methods: SNPs in COL1A1 and COL1A2 genes were identified via direct sequencing in 32 unrelated postmenopausal Chinese women. Ten SNPs were genotyped in 1252 postmenopausal Chinese women.

No association between LRP5 gene polymorphisms and bone and obesity phenotypes in Chinese male-offspring nuclear families.

Aim: To investigate the effect of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) gene polymorphisms on bone and obesity phenotypes in young Chinese men.

Methods: A total of 1244 subjects from 411 Chinese nuclear families were genotyped by using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique at the Q89R, N740N, and A1330V sites in the LRP5 gene. Bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine and the hip, total fat mass and total lean mass were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Association between VDR and ESR1 gene polymorphisms with bone and obesity phenotypes in Chinese male nuclear families.

Aim: The goal of this study was to determine whether polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) genes are associated with variations of peak bone mineral density (BMD) and obesity phenotypes in young Chinese men.

Methods: A total of 1215 subjects from 400 Chinese nuclear families were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and allele-specific multiple PCR (ASM-PCR) analysis at the ApaI, FokI, and CDX2 sites in the VDR gene and the PvuII and XbaI sites in the ESR1 gene. BMD at the lumbar spine and hip, total fat mass, and total lean mass were measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Early onset Paget's disease of bone caused by a novel mutation (78dup27) of the TNFRSF11A gene in a Chinese family.

Aim: A previous study showed that individuals of Japanese descent affected by early onset familial Paget's disease of bone (PDB) carried a 27-bp duplication at position 75 (75dup27) in the TNFRSF11A gene encoding RANK. Here we report the identification of a novel mutation (78dup27) in exon 1 of TNFRSF11A in a Chinese family with early onset PDB.

Methods: We conducted clinical and genetic studies in a non-consanguineous Chinese family with early onset PDB.