Calcitonin receptor mRNA in mononuclear leucocytes from postmenopausal women: decrease during osteoporosis and link to bone markers with specific isoform involvement

Calcitonin inhibits bone resorption via its receptor (CTR) on osteoclasts. Two hCTR isoforms, hCTR1 and hCTR2, give proteins that differ in their structure and signaling pathways. We investigated whether specific isoforms or quantitative changes in total hCTR mRNA were associated with high bone resorption and turnover in menopause or osteoporosis. The hCTR mRNA in mononuclear blood cells of premenopausal (PreM), healthy (PostM), and osteoporotic (OsteoP) postmenopausal women was assessed using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. hCTR1 and hCTR2 were investigated for 59 total RNA samples, and semiquantitative analysis of total hCTR mRNA was performed for 71. Serum calcitonin, free urinary deoxypyridinoline (D-Pyr), serum bone alkaline phosphatase (SBAP), and osteocalcin (SOC) were also evaluated. Serum calcitonin levels did not differ in PostM and OsteoP. The prevalence of each isoform was similar in the three groups. Healthy postmenopausal women and OsteoP with hCTR2 had lower bone turnover (D-Pyr: 6.79 ± 0.54, n = 25; SBAP: 11.63 ± 1.47, n = 26; SOC: 8.31 ± 0.58, n = 26) than those without hCTR2 (D-Pyr: 9.90 ± 1.95, n = 5; SBAP: 21 ± 5.19, n = 5; SOC: 11.9 ± 2.10, n = 5; p< 0.05). Total hCTR mRNA levels were not different in PreM and PostM. By contrast, values were strikingly lower in OsteoP (0.57 ± 0.17, n = 28) than in PostM (2.25 ± 0.61, n = 19, p< 0.05) and negatively correlated with bone markers values in both. We suggest that a specific isoform and amounts of total hCTR mRNA are linked to increased bone resorption in postmenopausal osteoporosis.