Low free 25-hydroxyvitamin D and high vitamin D binding protein and parathyroid hormone in obese Caucasians. A complex association with bone?

BackgroundStudies have shown altered vitamin D metabolism in obesity. We assessed differences between obese and normal-weight subjects in total, free, and bioavailable 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D, 25(OH) D-Free, and 25(OH) D-Bio, respectively), vitamin D binding protein (DBP), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone traits.Methods595 37-47-year-old healthy Finnish men and women stratified by BMI were examined in this cross-sectional study. Background characteristic and intakes of vitamin D and calcium were collected. The concentrations of 25(OH) D, PTH, DBP, albumin and bone turnover markers were determined from blood. 25(OH) D-Free and 25(OH) D-Bio were calculated. pQCT was performed at radius and tibia.ResultsMean +/- SE (ANCOVA) 25(OH) D-Free (10.8 +/- 0.6 vs 12.9 +/- 0.4 nmol/L; P = 0.008) and 25(OH) DBio (4.1 +/- 0.3 vs 5.1 +/- 0.1 nmol/L; P = 0.003) were lower in obese than in normal-weight women. In men, 25(OH) D (48.0 +/- 2.4 vs 56.4 +/- 2.0 nmol/L, P = 0.003), 25(OH) D-Free (10.3 +/- 0.7 vs 12.5 +/- 0.6 pmol/L; P = 0.044) and 25(OH) D-Bio (4.2 +/- 0.3 vs 5.1 +/- 0.2 nmol/L; P = 0.032) were lower in obese. Similarly in all subjects, 25(OH) D, 25(OH) D-Free and 25(OH) D-Bio were lower in obese (P<0.001). DBP (399 +/- 12 vs 356 +/- 7mg/L, P = 0.008) and PTH (62.2 +/- 3.0 vs 53.3 +/- 1.9 ng/L; P = 0.045) were higher in obese than in normal-weight women. In all subjects, PTH and DBP were higher in obese (P = 0.047 and P = 0.004, respectively). In obese women, 25(OH) D was negatively associated with distal radius trabecular density (R-2 = 0.089, P = 0.009) and tibial shaft cortical strength index (CSI) (R-2 = 0.146, P = 0.004). 25(OH) D-Free was negatively associated with distal radius CSI (R-2 = 0.070, P = 0.049), radial shaft cortical density (CorD) (R-2 = 0.050, P = 0.045), and tibial shaft CSI (R-2 = 0.113, P = 0.012). 25(OH) D-Bio was negatively associated with distal radius CSI (R-2 = 0.072, P = 0.045), radial shaft CorD (R-2 = 0.059, P = 0.032), and tibial shaft CSI (R-2 = 0.093, P = 0.024).ConclusionsThe associations between BMI and 25(OH) D, 25(OH) D-Free, and 25(OH) D-Bio, DBP, and PTH suggest that obese subjects may differ from normal-weight subjects in vitamin D metabolism. BMI associated positively with trabecular bone traits and CSI in our study, and slightly negatively with cortical bone traits. Surprisingly, there was a negative association of free and bioavailable 25(OH) D and some of the bone traits in obese women

Evolution of self-compatibility in Arabidopsis by a mutation in the male specificity gene

Ever since Darwin's pioneering research, the evolution of self-fertilisation (selfing) has been regarded as one of the most prevalent evolutionary transitions in flowering plants. A major mechanism to prevent selfing is the self-incompatibility (SI) recognition system, which consists of male and female specificity genes at the S-locus and SI modifier genes. Under conditions that favour selfing, mutations disabling the male recognition component are predicted to enjoy a relative advantage over those disabling the female component, because male mutations would increase through both pollen and seeds whereas female mutations would increase only through seeds. Despite many studies on the genetic basis of loss of SI in the predominantly selfing plant Arabidopsis thaliana, it remains unknown whether selfing arose through mutations in the female specificity gene (S-receptor kinase, SRK), male specificity gene (S-locus cysteine-rich protein, SCR; also known as S-locus protein 11, SP11) or modifier genes, and whether any of them rose to high frequency across large geographic regions. Here we report that a disruptive 213-base-pair (bp) inversion in the SCR gene (or its derivative haplotypes with deletions encompassing the entire SCR-A and a large portion of SRK-A) is found in 95% of European accessions, which contrasts with the genome-wide pattern of polymorphism in European A. thaliana. Importantly, interspecific crossings using Arabidopsis halleri as a pollen donor reveal that some A. thaliana accessions, including Wei-1, retain the female SI reaction, suggesting that all female components including SRK are still functional. Moreover, when the 213-bp inversion in SCR was inverted and expressed in transgenic Wei-1 plants, the functional SCR restored the SI reaction. The inversion within SCR is the first mutation disrupting SI shown to be nearly fixed in geographically wide samples, and its prevalence is consistent with theoretical predictions regarding the evolutionary advantage of mutations in male components