Osteoporosis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Osteoporosis, including details on symptoms, treatment, prevention, causes.

Soluble cathepsin K: a novel marker for the prediction of nontraumatic fractures?

Holzer G, Noske H, Lang T, Holzer L, Willinger U

Department of Orthopedics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. gerold.holzer@meduniwien.ac.at

We sought to evaluate serum concentrations of cathepsin K in peripheral blood and to determine whether they correlated with bone-mineral density (BMD) and the incidence of nontraumatic fractures. We took blood samples from 162 patients (101 with osteoporosis, 48 with osteopenia) and 13 healthy controls, then conducted quantitative measurements of cathepsin K using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cathepsin K concentrations were correlated with the incidence of nontraumatic fracture, BMD, markers of bone turnover (alkaline phosphatase, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, parathyroid hormone, and C-telopeptide). The correlations between cathepsin K concentrations in subjects without fractures and in those with multiple nontraumatic fractures were statistically significant ( t = -2.1, degrees of freedom = 107, P = .036). The cathepsin K levels of controls and patients with osteoporosis were significantly different ( t = -3.7, degrees of freedom = 58.9, p>0.0001) These results suggest that the serum level of cathepsin K could serve as a marker for fracture prediction and BMD.

Published 18 July 2005 in J Lab Clin Med, 146(1): 13-7.
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