Efficacy of calcium supplementation for human bone health by mass spectrometry profiling and cathepsin K measurement in plasma samples

• Published in: Journal of bone and mineral metabolism Vol. 29; no. 5; pp. 552 - 560
• Main Authors: Zhao, Yingchun, Cao, Rui, Ma, Danjun, Zhang, Hengwei, Lappe, Joan, Recker, Robert R., Xiao, Gary Guishan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Springer Japan 01.09.2011; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Bone and Bones - drug effects; Bone and Bones - metabolism; Calcium Carbonate - administration & dosage; Calcium Carbonate - pharmacology; Calcium supplement; Calcium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Calcium, Dietary - pharmacology; Cathepsin K; Cathepsin K - blood; Dietary Supplements - adverse effects; Direct mass spectrometry; Diseases of the digestive system; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Mass Spectrometry; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Middle Aged; Milk; Original Article; Orthopedics; Osteoporosis; Osteoporosis. Osteomalacia. Paget disease; Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects); Serum biomarker; Osteoporosis; Serum biomarker; Cathepsin K; Direct mass spectrometry; Calcium supplement; Human; Calcium; Enzyme; Cysteine endopeptidases; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Rheumatology; Biological marker; Exploration; Blood plasma; Peptidases; Diet therapy; Bone mass; Hydrolases; Serum; Supplementation; Mass spectrometry
• ISSN: 0914-8779; 1435-5604; 1435-5604
• DOI: 10.1007/s00774-010-0251-7

Osteoporosis is a common disease among older people, especially postmenopausal women. Calcium supplementation is effective in decreasing the occurrence of osteoporosis. We tested the effect of different calcium sources (i.e., calcium carbonate chew, milk mineral chew, milk drink and placebo chew) by direct mass spectrometry (dMS) profiling and cathepsin K measurement in the serum of subjects. The dMS method is promising for plasma biomarker discovery, and cathepsin K level in the plasma is an indicator for osteoporosis. Our result shows that dMS detected characteristic ion peaks after different calcium supplement interventions; ion peak 4281.0  m / z was commonly inhibited by all three treatments. This ion peak was identified to be a fragment of follistatin-related protein 3 precursor by means of the “Lift” mode of MS/MS. The other differential ion peaks were also successfully identified: 1786.5  m / z (upregulated after calcium carbonate chew) was shown to be one fragment of transcription factor jun-B; the parent protein of 3504.7  m / z (upregulated after milk drink) was a collagen alpha-2 (type I) chain precursor; the ion peak of 3359.6  m / z (downregulated after milk mineral chew) was one fragment of family 31 glucosidase. Cathepsin K is significantly inhibited only by calcium carbonate chew treatment, indicating this form of calcium supplement has some advantage over other sources of supplementation.