Vitamin D receptor overexpression in osteoblasts and osteocytes prevents bone loss during vitamin D-deficiency

There are several lines of evidence that demonstrate the ability of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3), acting via the vitamin D receptor (VDR) to mediate negative or positive effects in bone. Transgenic over-expression of VDR in osteoblasts and osteocytes in a mouse model (OSVDR) has been previously shown to inhibit processes of bone resorption and enhance bone formation, under conditions of adequate calcium intake. While these findings suggest that vitamin D signalling in osteoblasts and osteocytes promotes bone mineral accrual, the vitamin D requirement for this action is not well understood. In this study, 4 week old female OSVDR and wild-type (WT) mice were fed either a vitamin D-replete (1000IU/kg diet, D+) or vitamin D-deficient (D-) diet for 4 months to observe changes to bone mineral homeostasis. Tibial bone mineral volume was analysed by micro-CT and changes to bone cell activities were measured using standard dynamic histomorphometric techniques. While vitamin D-deplete WT mice demonstrated a reduction in periosteal bone accrual and overall bone mineral volume, OSVDR mice, however, displayed increased cortical and cancellous bone volume in mice which remained higher during vitamin D-depletion due to a reduced osteoclast number and increased bone formation rate. These data suggest that increased VDR-mediated activity in osteoblast and osteocytes prevents bone loss due to vitamin D-deficiency. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled '16th Vitamin D Workshop'.