Bone Microstructure Osteoporosis Trabecular Bone EFFECT OF VITAMIN K2 ON 3-D TRABECULAR MICROARCHITECTURE IN OVARIECTOMIZED RATS

Introduction : Two types of vitamin K occur in nature: vitamin K1 (phylloquinone, 2-methyl-3-phytyl-1,4-naphthoquinone), which is derived from plants, and vitamin K2 (menaquinones), a series of vitamers with multiisoprene units at the 3-position. Vitamin K2 activates osteoblasts to enhance calcification, acts as a coenzyme of γ-carboxylase for the Gla protein, and is also reported to inhibit bone resorption. Over the past few years, several articles have been devoted to the study of vitamin K2 treatment and osteoporosis, however, there have been few studies of the effect of vitamin K2 on 3-D trabecular microarchitecture in osteoporosis. The objective of this study is to quantify the effect of vitamin K2 on 3-D trabecular microarchitecture using an animal model for postmenopausal osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy and a calcium-deficient diet. In this study, we assessed the effects of menatetrenone (2-methyl-3-all-transtetraprenyl-1,4naphthoquinone), a vitamin K2 with four isoprene units.