Serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin was inversely associated with plasma glucose level and fat mass in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Summary Although recent animal studies have shown that undercarboxylated osteocalcin acts as a hormone regulating glucose metabolism and fat mass, little is known about the relationships in humans. We reported here for the first time that undercarboxylated osteocalcin were associated with glucose/fat metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes. Introduction Recent studies have shown that undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) acts as a hormone regulating glucose metabolism and fat mass. We investigated the relationship between ucOC as well as other bone turnover markers [serum OC, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), and urinary N-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type-I collagen] versus serum levels of glucose, fasting serum C-peptide, and adiponectin as well as the amount of fat mass in type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 180 men and 109 postmenopausal women were consecutively recruited, and radiographic and biochemical characteristics were collected. Fat mass was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and computed tomography (CT). Results In men, ucOC negatively correlated with percent trunk fat (%trunk fat; by DXA) and visceral/subcutaneous fat ratio (by CT) as well as fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c (at least p<0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed that these associations were still significant independent of age, duration of diabetes, body stature, and renal function as well as glucose or fat metabolism, whereas BAP, another bone formation marker, did not correlate with any variable. On the other hand, although ucOC also negatively correlated with %fat and %trunk fat as well as HbA1c (at least p<0.05) in postmenopausal women, we found no significant association in multiple regression analysis. Conclusions These findings suggest that ucOC is associated with plasma glucose level and fat mass in men with type 2 diabetes.