| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Agonist Rosiglitazone Decreases Bone Formation and Bone Mineral Density in Healthy Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized, Controlled TrialDepartment of Medicine (A.G., M.B., G.G., D.W., A.H., I.R.R.), University of Auckland, and LabPlus (J.D.), Auckland City Hospital, 1020 Auckland, New Zealand
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Andrew Grey, Department of Medicine, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, 1020 Auckland, New Zealand. E-mail: a.grey{at}auckland.ac.nz.
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
agonists, are widely prescribed to patients with disorders characterized by insulin resistance. Preclinical studies suggest that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-
signaling negatively regulates bone formation and bone density. Human data on the skeletal effects of thiazolidinediones are currently available only from observational studies. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine whether rosiglitazone, a thiazolidinedione, inhibits bone formation.
Design: The study was a 14-wk randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Setting: The study was conducted in the general community.
Patients: Fifty healthy, postmenopausal women participated in the study.
Intervention: Intervention was rosiglitazone 8 mg/d.
Main Outcome Measures: The primary end point was biochemical markers of bone formation, and secondary end points were a bone resorption marker and bone mineral density.
Results: The osteoblast markers procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide and osteocalcin declined by 13% (P < 0.005 vs. placebo) and 10% (P = 0.04 vs. placebo), respectively, in the rosiglitazone group. These changes were evident by 4 wk and persisted for the duration of the study. There was no change in the serum ß-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, a marker of bone resorption (P = 0.9 vs. placebo). Total hip bone density fell in the rosiglitazone group (mean change from baseline rosiglitazone 1.9%, placebo 0.2%; between-group difference 1.7%, 95% confidence interval 0.62.7, P < 0.01); lumbar spine bone density fell significantly from baseline values in the rosiglitazone group (P = 0.02 vs. baseline) but was not significantly different between groups (mean change from baseline rosiglitazone 1.2%, placebo 0.2%; between-group difference 1.0%, 95% confidence interval 0.22.3, P = 0.13).
Conclusions: Short-term therapy with rosiglitazone exerts detrimental skeletal effects by inhibiting bone formation. Skeletal end points should be included in future long-term studies of thiazolidinedione use.
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
isoform (1). In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, their use is associated with significant improvements in glycemic control and serum lipoprotein profile, although their ability to reduce the incidence of vascular events is uncertain (3). At present, thiazolidinediones account for 21% of oral antihyperglycemic drugs used in the United States and 5% in Europe (4). It is estimated that 2 million Americans were prescribed rosiglitazone last year (personal communication, Westun, C., GlaxoSmithKline, New Zealand).
PPAR-
is expressed in a number of tissues (1), raising the possibility that drugs that interact with it may induce clinical effects other than insulin sensitization. Prominent among the tissues in which PPAR-
is expressed is bone. In skeletal tissue, PPAR-
acts as a molecular switch that regulates the fate of pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells, which have the ability to differentiate into adipocytes or osteoblasts. In vitro, PPAR-
agonists promote adipocyte differentiation in preference to osteoblast differentiation (5, 6, 7, 8). There are conflicting reports of the effects of PPAR-
activation on osteoclastogenesis (9, 10). Haploinsufficiency of the PPAR-
gene in mice induces a high bone density phenotype characterized by increased rates of osteoblastic bone formation (11, 12), whereas treatment of rodents with PPAR-
agonists induces bone loss characterized by deficient osteoblast function (12, 13, 14). Data from human studies of the skeletal actions of thiazolidinediones are currently available only from an observational study, which reported that female, but not male, diabetic thiazolidinedione users experience accelerated bone loss, compared with nonthiazolidinedione users (15).
Patients with type 2 diabetes may be at increased risk of fragility fractures (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22). Because PPAR-
agonists are increasingly frequently used to treat this disease, it is important to determine whether these drugs have adverse effects on the human skeleton. We undertook a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to test the hypothesis that treatment with rosiglitazone would cause adverse skeletal effects in healthy postmenopausal women. The primary objective was to determine the effect of rosiglitazone 8 mg daily on biochemical markers of bone formation over a 14-wk period. Secondary end points were change in markers of bone resorption and bone mineral density.
| Subjects and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Participants were normal postmenopausal women who were more than 5 yr postmenopausal and aged older than 55 yr. They were recruited between January and October 2005. Women with illnesses or receiving therapies likely to affect bone were ineligible, as were those with osteoporosis [bone mineral density (BMD) T score at lumbar spine or total hip
2.5] and those with any other major systemic disease or contraindications to the use of thiazolidinediones. Subjects were recruited by advertisements seeking healthy postmenopausal women to participate in clinical bone research. Of the 183 women who received study information sheets, 75 attended a screening visit (Fig. 1
). Six women met exclusion criteria (one taking estrogen, one taking a bisphosphonate, one taking glucocorticoids, one taking an anticonvulsant, one with cancer, one with primary hyperparathyroidism), and 19 women elected for personal reasons (10 concerned about possible weight gain, two unwilling to undergo blood tests, four with nonexclusionary intercurrent illnesses, three for unstated reasons) not to proceed to randomization.
|
Protocol
A randomized trial, comparing rosiglitazone 8 mg daily (2 x 4 mg tablets) with placebo over a period of 14 wk was performed. The placebo tablet was similar, but not identical with, the active tablet. Tablets were dispensed into identical opaque containers by a staff member who was not involved in giving study medication to participants. Each container was labeled with the subjects study number and distributed to the participant by another staff member. Subjects took one study tablet daily for the first 2 wk and then two tablets daily for the remainder of the study. Blood samples were collected fasting between 0800 and 1000 h at baseline and 2, 4, 8, and 14 wk. Treatment allocations were randomized by the study statistician, using a variable block size schedule, based on computer-generated random numbers. To ensure masking, only the statistician had access to treatment allocation. All the other study personnel and subjects were blinded to treatment allocation throughout. Only the study statistician saw unblinded data, but he had no contact with study participants. The study was approved by the Auckland Ethics Committee, and written informed consent was provided by each participant. The trial is registered at the Australian Clinical Trials Register (ACTRN 012605000218695; www.actr.org.au).
Measurements
Serum calcium, phosphate, albumin, and total alkaline phosphatase activity were measured on a modular autoanalyzer (Roche, Stockholm, Sweden). 25-Hydroxyvitamin D was measured using a chemiluminescent assay (Nichols, San Juan Capistrano, CA). Intact PTH was measured using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (E170; Roche). Serum osteocalcin, serum ß-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ßCTX) and serum procollagen type-I N-terminal propeptide (P1NP) were measured using commercially available kits, as previously described (23, 24). Coefficients of variation of these markers are as follows: osteocalcin, 5.5%; ßCTX, 5.1%; PINP, 1.9%. Each turnover marker was assayed at the end of the study period in a single batch. Samples were stored at 70 C.
Bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and proximal femur was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry using a Lunar Prodigy instrument (GE-Lunar, Madison, WI; software version 7.51.008) at baseline and 14 wk. Bone density measurements were performed by two experienced technicians, both of whom are certified by Synarc, the international company that provides bone density oversight for most international osteoporosis drug registration trials. The coefficients of variation for measurement of total hip and lumbar spine bone mineral densities in our laboratory are 1.1 and 1.4%, respectively.
Statistics
The primary end points of the study were the two specific markers of bone formation, osteocalcin and P1NP. The study was therefore designed to detect a 1 SD difference between the treatment groups in the change in either of these markers. Because recruitment made allowance for dropouts, the number of completing subjects provides 80% power at the 5% significance level to detect differences of at least 90% of 1 SD between the placebo and rosiglitazone arms. Sample-size calculations were performed using PASS (NCSS and PASS number cruncher statistical systems, Kaysville, UT). Procedures of the statistical analysis system SAS (version 9.2; SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) were used for all analyses. All statistical tests were two tailed, and a 5% significance level was maintained throughout. All treatment evaluations were performed on the principle of intention to treat. A mixed-models approach to repeated measures was used to examine the time course of response in treatment and control arms at baseline and at 2, 4, 8 and 14 wk. The correct covariance structure was determined by likelihood ratio test (i.e. the first-order autoregression matrix was compared against an unstructured covariance matrix). Maximum likelihood imputation was used to ensure all the randomized patients could be included in the model (25). The assumptions of normality of the dependent variable and residuals were tested by inspection and goodness of fit assessed by maximizing the Akaike information criterion. P values for significant main and interaction (treatment by time) effects were constructed using the method of Tukey.
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
-Glutamyl transferase did not change during the study (P for time x treatment interaction = 0.11).
|
There were no differences between the groups in the levels of serum calcium, phosphate, and PTH (Table 2
). Mean values of each of these variables were within the normal range throughout the study.
|
|
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
agonist, inhibits bone formation and accelerates bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women. These data are consistent with those from in vitro and animal studies demonstrating that PPAR-
signaling negatively regulates osteoblast function (bone formation) and bone mass (7, 8, 11, 13, 14). The pattern of alteration of bone remodeling that we observed in response to rosiglitazone is similar to that seen after the initiation of glucocorticoid therapy (26). The uncoupling of bone formation from resorption by glucocorticoids is accompanied by early and rapid bone loss and an increased risk of fragility fractures (27). Our data suggest that rosiglitazone may also promote rapid bone loss; longer-term studies are needed to determine whether the rate of loss we observed is sustained. Because patients with type 2 diabetes may have an increased risk of fragility fractures (16, 17, 18, 19, 20), the possibility that one of the therapies commonly used to treat the disease may be increasing that risk is a cause for concern. The increasing use of thiazolidinediones in other clinical conditions characterized by insulin resistance (28, 29), including impaired glucose tolerance (30), is a further reason to fully characterize their long-term skeletal effects. We therefore suggest that skeletal safety end points should be added to existing and planned randomized trials of PPAR-
agonists so that the skeletal effects of thiazolidinediones can be studied over a longer period.
Although preclinical studies have consistently reported that rosiglitazone impairs osteoblast function (13, 14, 31, 32), conflicting in vitro data exist as to whether PPAR-
signaling affects osteoclastogenesis (7, 9, 10). Our data suggest that PPAR-
agonists do not influence bone resorption in vivo, a finding consistent with those of in vivo studies in rodents (11, 13, 14). The limited preclinical data that are available on the skeletal effects of pioglitazone, the other commonly prescribed thiazolidinedione, suggest that it has comparable actions with those of rosiglitazone (33, 34). Whether there is a class effect of thiazolidinediones on skeletal homeostasis is uncertain, with recent preclinical studies of new compounds reporting both adverse (35) and neutral (36) effects in rodent models.
Currently there are few data available on the skeletal actions of thiazolidinediones in humans. Uncontrolled studies of Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes treated with troglitazone, a PPAR-
agonist no longer in clinical use, reported significant reductions in markers of both bone formation and resorption after 1 month, but values returned to baseline by 1 yr (37, 38). More recently an analysis of the small number (n = 69) of diabetic subjects taking thiazolidinediones (pioglitazone, troglitazone, and rosiglitazone) in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition observational study reported accelerated bone loss in over 4 yr in women but not men (15). After our manuscript was submitted, Kahn et al. (39) reported a higher incidence of fractures, detected as adverse events, in female diabetic subjects randomized to receive rosiglitazone, compared with those randomized to receive either metformin or glyburide, during a 4 yr study of glycemic durability of oral monotherapies. Our findings provide rigorous evidence for a detrimental effect of PPAR-
agonists on the postmenopausal female skeleton. Whether there is a gender difference in the skeletal response to thiazolidinediones can be determined only by a randomized, controlled trial in men.
The mechanism(s) by which rosiglitazone alters bone remodeling likely involves direct effects on osteoblast development and function, but the possibility of indirect skeletal actions also exists. Adipose tissue is a target for PPAR-
agonists, and some adipokines influence bone cell function. Thiazolidinediones may decrease circulating levels of leptin (38), the peripheral actions of which include osteoblast anabolism (40). The insulin-sensitizing actions of PPAR-
agonists lower circulating levels of insulin (1) and therefore are likely to reduce levels of the cosecreted pancreatic ß-cell peptide amylin, each of which is anabolic to osteoblasts (41, 42).
A theoretical limitation of our study is the possibility that dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry may underestimate bone density in rosiglitazone-treated subjects because of changes in bone marrow adiposity. We think this unlikely because, although it is not known whether rosiglitazone increases marrow fat in humans, 30-fold higher doses (by body weight) of drug than those used in our study do not increase marrow fat in rodents (13), and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry accurately measures bone density in vivo, as corroborated by histomorphometry and/or microcomputed tomography, when marrow adiposity is known to be either increased (31, 36) or absent (43).
Limitations of the present study are its short duration and the healthy volunteer study population. An advantage of studying healthy subjects is that it allows an assessment of the effects of rosiglitazone on bone metabolism, independent of any confounding introduced by improvements in the metabolic control of diabetes mellitus (44). Furthermore, because the indications for use of thiazolidinediones are expanding to include individuals with insulin resistance (30), assessment of their bone effects outside the context of a specific pathological state is appropriate. The short duration of the study was necessary because the hypothesis was one of harm, and the study participants were normal volunteers who would not be expected to benefit from the intervention. We believe that the 14-wk study duration was adequate to provide proof of principle that thiazolidinediones impact adversely on the human skeleton, without exposing the subjects to a significant risk of long-term skeletal harm. Longer-term studies are clearly necessary, but these would best be undertaken in study populations that might reasonably be expected to derive some benefit from thiazolidinedione use, such as people with type 2 diabetes and/or impaired glucose tolerance.
| Footnotes |
|---|
Author Disclosure Summary: None of the authors have anything to declare.
First Published Online January 30, 2007
Abbreviations: BMD, Bone mineral density; ßCTX, ß-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen; P1NP, procollagen type-I N-terminal propeptide; PPAR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor.
Received November 30, 2006.
Accepted January 22, 2007.
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
activation by thiazolidinediones induces adipogenesis in bone marrow stromal cells. Mol Pharmacol 50:10871094[Abstract]
2. J Cell Biochem 74:357371[CrossRef][Medline]
insufficiency on bone marrow cells, osteoblasts, and osteoclastic cells. J Bone Miner Metab 23:275279[CrossRef][Medline]
inhibits differentiation of preosteoblasts. J Lab Clin Med 142:2934[CrossRef][Medline]
pathway inhibits osteoclast differentiation. J Biol Chem 275:1438814393
insufficiency enhances osteogenesis through osteoblast formation from bone marrow progenitors. J Clin Invest 113:846855[CrossRef][Medline]
2 ligands on adipocyte versus osteoblast differentiation. Endocrinology 143:23762384
agonists increase bone mineral density in female rats. J Bone Miner Res 18(Suppl 2):S42
agonist, darglitazone, on bone in mice. Bone 39:796806[Medline]
ligand with selective effects on bone and fat. Bone 38:7484[Medline]This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
J. K. Dowman, J.W. Tomlinson, and P.N. Newsome Pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease QJM, November 13, 2009; (2009) hcp158v1. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. R. Dormuth, G. Carney, B. Carleton, K. Bassett, and J. M. Wright Thiazolidinediones and Fractures in Men and Women Arch Intern Med, August 10, 2009; 169(15): 1395 - 1402. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. H. Solomon, S. M. Cadarette, N. K. Choudhry, C. Canning, R. Levin, and T. Sturmer A Cohort Study of Thiazolidinediones and Fractures in Older Adults with Diabetes J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., August 1, 2009; 94(8): 2792 - 2798. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
U. I. Modder, D. G. Monroe, D. G. Fraser, T. C. Spelsberg, C. J. Rosen, M. Gehin, P. Chambon, B. W. O'Malley, and S. Khosla Skeletal Consequences of Deletion of Steroid Receptor Coactivator-2/Transcription Intermediary Factor-2 J. Biol. Chem., July 10, 2009; 284(28): 18767 - 18777. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Z. T. Bloomgarden Bone Disease, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, and Health Care Diabetes Care, July 1, 2009; 32(7): e77 - e83. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
F. M. Gregoire, F. Zhang, H. J. Clarke, T. A. Gustafson, D. D. Sears, S. Favelyukis, J. Lenhard, D. Rentzeperis, L. E. Clemens, Y. Mu, et al. MBX-102/JNJ39659100, a Novel Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-Ligand with Weak Transactivation Activity Retains Antidiabetic Properties in the Absence of Weight Gain and Edema Mol. Endocrinol., July 1, 2009; 23(7): 975 - 988. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. O'Sullivan, A. Horne, D. Wattie, F. Porteous, K. Callon, G. Gamble, P. Ebeling, P. Browett, and A. Grey Decreased Bone Turnover Despite Persistent Secondary Hyperparathyroidism during Prolonged Treatment with Imatinib J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., April 1, 2009; 94(4): 1131 - 1136. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y. K. Loke MBBS MD, S. Singh MD MPH, and C. D. Furberg MD PhD Long-term use of thiazolidinediones and fractures in type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis Can. Med. Assoc. J., January 6, 2009; 180(1): 32 - 39. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Chitturi Review: Treatment options for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology, November 1, 2008; 1(3): 173 - 189. [Abstract] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. Glintborg, M. Andersen, C. Hagen, L. Heickendorff, and A. P. Hermann Association of Pioglitazone Treatment with Decreased Bone Mineral Density in Obese Premenopausal Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2008; 93(5): 1696 - 1701. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. E. Kahn, B. Zinman, J. M. Lachin, S. M. Haffner, W. H. Herman, R. R. Holman, B. G. Kravitz, D. Yu, M. A. Heise, R. P. Aftring, et al. Rosiglitazone-Associated Fractures in Type 2 Diabetes: An analysis from A Diabetes Outcome Progression Trial (ADOPT) Diabetes Care, May 1, 2008; 31(5): 845 - 851. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. A. Cauley and K. E. Ensrud Considering Competing Risks . . . Not All Black and White Arch Intern Med, April 28, 2008; 168(8): 793 - 795. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. Meier, M. E. Kraenzlin, M. Bodmer, S. S. Jick, H. Jick, and C. R. Meier Use of Thiazolidinediones and Fracture Risk Arch Intern Med, April 28, 2008; 168(8): 820 - 825. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. B. Grey Skeletal Toxicity of Thiazolidinediones Ann Intern Med, April 1, 2008; 148(7): 563 - 563. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Monami, B. Cresci, A. Colombini, L. Pala, D. Balzi, F. Gori, V. Chiasserini, N. Marchionni, C. M. Rotella, and E. Mannucci Bone Fractures and Hypoglycemic Treatment in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A case-control study Diabetes Care, February 1, 2008; 31(2): 199 - 203. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. E Murphy and P. T Rodgers Effects of Thiazolidinediones on Bone Loss and Fracture Ann. Pharmacother., December 1, 2007; 41(12): 2014 - 2018. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Z. Berberoglu, A. Gursoy, N. Bayraktar, A. C. Yazici, N. Bascil Tutuncu, and N. Guvener Demirag Rosiglitazone Decreases Serum Bone-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase Activity in Postmenopausal Diabetic Women J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., September 1, 2007; 92(9): 3523 - 3530. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. V. Schwartz and D. E. Sellmeyer Thiazolidinedione Therapy Gets Complicated: Is bone loss the price of improved insulin resistance? Diabetes Care, June 1, 2007; 30(6): 1670 - 1671. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Rosiglitazone May Reduce Bone Density Journal Watch (General), April 24, 2007; 2007(424): 4 - 4. [Full Text] |
||||
![]() |
A. V. Schwartz and D. E. Sellmeyer Thiazolidinediones: New Evidence of Bone Loss J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., April 1, 2007; 92(4): 1232 - 1234. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Endocrinology | Endocrine Reviews | J. Clin. End. & Metab. |
| Molecular Endocrinology | Recent Prog. Horm. Res. | All Endocrine Journals |