Elucidation of new vitamin K function aiming at application to cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment

Abstract

Although Vitamin K is known to be required by the human body for blood clotting and bone metabolism, there remain many unknowns about this group of vitamins and there is a lack of biochemical research on vitamin K. Limitations in knowledge about vitamin k may mean that decisions about the vitamin's uptake and bone health may not be optimal. Professor Kimie Nakagawa Laboratory of Hygienic Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, Japan, is performing detailed investigations on vitamin K to shed light on its specific functions in the human body and contribute to advancements in disease prevention and treatment, including cardiovascular disease. Her studies centre on UBIAD1 (UbiA prenyltransferase domain containing protein 1) and MK-4 (menaquinone-4). She is seeking to elucidate the role of MK-4 in the human body and reveal the unknown functions of UBIAD1. Nakagawa and the teams are doing so using UBIAD1 tissue-specific gene-deficient mice, which they are analysing in order to clarify the significance of biosynthesis of MK-4 in vivo and unravel the role of UBIAD1 and MK-4 in each tissue. Specific research goals for Nakagawa are to elucidate vitamin K conversion mechanisms, establish improved understanding of the physiological function of the vitamin, identify vitamin K converting enzymes and learn and explain more about the physiological function of this enzyme. The team made an important discovery in that UBIAD1 is the enzyme responsible for the conversion of vitamin k to MK-4 and the researchers will continue to build on this groundbreaking finding.