Interaction between bone and artery

Abstract

Both osteoporosis and vascular calcification are highly prevalent in aged subjects and patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease(CKD). Although it has long been thought that vascular calcification is a consequence of degeneration of vessel walls, recent studies unveiled the molecular mechanism of vascular calcification and identified the vascular calcification as a process similar to bone formation. With the advent of the understanding of the basis for bone remodeling, several hypotheses have been proposed for the underlying mechanism of the interaction between osteoporosis and vascular calcification. Briefly,(1)impaired bone remodeling may perturb serum calcium/phosphate, thus contributing to increased vascular calcification,(2)vascular calcification may precede osteoporosis, and(3)molecules responsible for bone remodeling, including estrogen, parathyroid hormone and vitamin D, RANK(receptor activator of nuclear factor kB), RANK ligand(RANKL), and osteoprotegerin(OPG), Wnt signaling, and loss of calcification inhibitors(matrix Gla protein)may promote vascular calcification. This review discusses the emerging role of bone remodeling factors in vascular calcification.