Silica Sep-Pak preparative chromatography for vitamin D and its metabolites.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M F Holick.
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There is uncertainty about the adequacy of renal secretion of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(1,25-(OH)2-D) in elderly patients with osteoporosis. To investigate this uncertainty, we stimulated secretion of 1,25-(OH)2-D with a 24-hour intravenous infusion of synthetic human parathyroid hormone fragment 1-34 and compared the results in normal young adults and elderly patients with untreated osteoporosis. Serum levels of 1,25-(OH)2-D were similar in both groups (49 +/- 10 and 42 +/- 9 pg per milliliter [116 +/- 24 and 99 +/- 21 pmol per liter]) before the infusion. However, during the 24-hour infusion, serum levels nearly doubled (P less than 0.01) in the normal volunteers but did not change significantly in the patients. Serum ionized calcium increased and serum inorganic phosphate decreased similarly in both groups during the infusion (P less than 0.05). Although the present study does not establish whether deficient 1,25-(OH)2-D secretory reserve is an effect of age or of osteoporosis, it is possible that such a deficiency will explain the inability of elderly osteoporotic patients to adapt to the low-calcium diets common in this age group. If so, this phenomenon may play a part in the pathogenesis of age-related osteoporosis.
When human skin was exposed to simulated solar ultraviolet radiation, epidermal 7-dehydrocholesterol was converted to previtamin D3. During prolonged exposure to simulated solar ultraviolet radiation, the synthesis of previtamin D3 reached a plateau at about 10 to 15 percent of the original 7-dehydrocholesterol content, and previtamin D3 was photoisomerized to two biologically inert isomers, lumisterol3 and tachysterol3. Increases either in skin melanin concentration or in latitude necessitated increases in the exposure time to simulated solar ultraviolet radiation required to maximize the formation, but not the total content, of previtamin D3. In order of importance, the significant determinants limiting the cutaneous production of previtamin D3 are (i) photochemical regulation, (ii) pigmentation, and (iii) latitude.
The skin has been recognized as the site for the sun-mediated photosynthesis of vitamin D3; until recently, however, very little was known about either the sequence of events leading to the formation of vitamin D3 in human skin or the factors that regulate the synthesis of this hormone. It is now established that, during exposure to sunlight, the cutaneous reservoir of 7-dehydrocholesterol (principally in the stratum Malpighii) converts to previtamin D3. Once this thermally labile previtamin is formed, it undergoes a temperature-dependent isomerization to vitamin D3 over a period of 3 days. The plasma vitamin-D binding protein preferentially translocates vitamin D3 from the skin into the circulation. During prolonged exposure to the sun, the accumulation of previtamin D3 is limited to about 10 to 15% of the original 7-dehydrocholesterol content because the previtamin photoisomerizes to 2 biologically inert photoproducts, lumisterol3 and tachysterol3. Increases in either latitude or the melanin concentration in the skin diminish the epidermal synthesis of previtamin D3. A single total body exposure to 3 minimal erythemal doses of ultraviolet radiation increased the vitamin-D3 levels in the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels after 7 days. The unique mechanism for the cutaneous synthesis, storage, and steady release of vitamin D3 into the circulation prompted an investigation into the potential therapeutic benefits of using the skin as the site for the synthesis and absorption of vitamin-D3 metabolites.
Three experiments were carried out to test the time course of effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3] on the ultrastructural morphometry of osteoclasts. The addition of lactose to a vitamin D-deficient diet with a high calcium and phosphate content, fed to weanling rats for 4 weeks, ensured normacalcemia and normophosphatemia and allowed thyroparathyroidectomy without ill effects. In these vitamin D-deficient thyroparathyroidectomized rats, iv injection of 50 ng 1,25-(OH)2D3 resulted in significant changes in the osteoclasts in the metaphysis of the tibiae compared to those in corresponding controls; the size of these cells, their nuclei, ruffled borders, and clear zones enlarged after 6 h and the number of osteoclasts increased after 48 h. Serum calcium and serum phosphate levels increased after 12 h in one experiment, but not in a second experiment. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone levels were undetectable. Mineralization of metaphyseal bone matrix was normal, as quantified by histomorphometry. When, dependent on the mineral content in the diet, mineralization was impaired and the volume density of the osteoid seams was increased, activation of osteoclasts by 1,25(OH)2D3 was not seen until 12--24 h after injection. It is concluded that a physiological dose of 1,25-(OH)2D3 stimulates the activity of osteoclasts in the absence of parathyroid hormone.
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Photosynthesis of previtamin D3 can occur throughout the epidermis in the dermis when hypopigmented Caucasian skin is exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation. Once previtamin D3 is formed in the skin, it undergoes a temperature-dependent thermal isomerization that takes at least 3 days to complete. The vitamin D-binding protein preferentially translocates the thermal product, vitamin D3, into the circulation. These processes suggest a unique mechanism for the synthesis, storage, and slow, steady release of vitamin D3 from the skin into the circulation.
3-Epivitamin D3, the 3 alpha epimer of vitamin D3, was synthesized, and its biological activity in the rat was evaluated. It was found to be approximately 4 times less active on a weight basis than vitamin D3 with respect to intestinal calcium transport, bone calcium mobilization, and calcification score as determined by the line-test assay. Tritiated 3-epivitamin D3 was prepared, and its metabolism in the rat was compared with that of vitamin D3 to investigate the reasons for this diminished activity. 3-Epivitamin D3 was converted to two polar metabolites, for which the chromatographic properties and the origin of biosynthesis (in the liver and kidney, respectively) correspond to 25-hydroxy-3-epivitamin D3 and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-3-epivitamin D3. The fact that the concentration of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-3-epivitamin D3 in the intestine is half that of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 may be one explanation for the reduced biological activity of this epimer.
Cutaneous 7-dehydrocholesterol, exposed to ultraviolet radiation, converts to previtamin D3, which in turn converts in skin to vitamin D3 and is carried into the circulation. We investigated the feasibility of the photochemical conversion in skin of hydroxylated derivatives of 7-dehydrocholesterol - such as 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxy-7-dehydrocholesterol (1 alpha, 25-(OH)2-7-DHC) - to the corresponding hydroxylated previtamin as an alternative method of delivery of 1 alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1 alpha, 25-(OH)2-D3) to subjects who are deficient in the endogenous metabolite. In human volunteers and in vitamin-D-deficient rats [24-3H] 1 alpha, 25-(OH)2-D3 appeared in blood after [24-3H] 1 alpha, 25-(OH)2-7-DHC was applied to the skin and exposed to ultraviolet radiation. In anephric rats, intestinal calcium absorption and serum calcium levels were elevated after a topical dose of 1 alpha, 25-(OH)2-7-DHC combined with ultraviolet phototherapy. Delivery of equivalent doses of 1 alpha, 25-(OH)2-D3 through the skin and orally showed that there was more prolonged stimulation in intestinal calcium absorption and serum calcium elevation after cutaneous administration. The photochemical conversion of precursors may be useful in the treatment of patients with impaired vitamin-D metabolism.
The process of the photolytic activation of vitamin D precursor(s) in the skin has been elucidated by a detailed analysis of the products formed after ultraviolet light exposure. The photolytic product isolated from the skin of rats exposed to ultraviolet irradiation was identified as previtamin D3 by several criteria including its (a) characteristic ultraviolet absorption spectrum, (b) mass spectrum, and (c) thermal isomerization to vitamin D3, which itself was identified also by mass spectroscopy. Vitamin D3 per se was not formed by ultraviolet irradiation--vitamin D3 arises exclusively from the thermal conversion of previtamin D3. Detectable amounts of lumisterol3 or tachysterol3 were not seen.
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Provitamin D3 (7-dehydrocholesterol) is converted to previtamin D3 by the action of ultraviolet radiation on the skin. Previtamin D3 thermally isomerizes to vitamin D3 in the skin and the vitamin is then transported to the liver on the vitamin D-binding protein. Although there are extrahepatic vitamin D-25-hydroxylases, the liver is the major site for the 25-hydroxylation of vitamin D. In response to hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia, 25-OH-D is metabolized by a renal-cytochrome. P450-dependent mixed function oxidase system is 1alpha,25(OH)2D. When calcium and phosphate homeostasis prevails the renal 25-OH-D-1alpha-hydroxylase activity is limited and instead a non-cytochrome P450 mixed function oxidase metabolizes 25-OH-D to 24R,25(OH)2D. Parathyroid hormone has clearly been shown to be a trophin for the renal synthesis of 1,25(OH)2D; however, the role and significance of the adrenal steroids, or gonadal and pituitary hormones, on the renal 25-OH-D-1alpha-hydroxylase is not well defined. The regulation of the photometabolism of provitamin D3 to vitamin D3, the role and significance of the side-chain metabolism of 1,25(OH)2D by the small intestine, and the metabolism of 25-OH-D to 24R,25(OH)2D by chondrocytes and its stimulation of protein synthesis in these cells are just a few issues that will require further investigation.
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To evaluate whether 1alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol is metabolized to 1alpha,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol in man, [6-3H]1alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol was given intravenously to a patient with renal failure who was maintained daily on 100,000 IU vitamin D and calcium supplements. Using Sephadex LH-20 and high-pressure liquid chromatography, it was clearly demonstrated that 1alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol rapidly disappears from the blood and is metabolized to 1alpha,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol.
Radioactive CO2 was detected in expired air after the administration of 25-hydroxy-[26,27-14C] vitamin d3 to vitamin D-deficient hypocalcemic rats; 14co2 was also detected after the administration of 1,25-dihydroxy-[26,27-14C] vitamin D3 to rats raised on the same diet. Nephretcomy totally abolished 14CO2 formation after administration of 25-hydroxy-[26,27-14C] vitamin D3 but not after the administration of 1,25-dihydroxy-[26,27-14C] vitamin D3. The production of 14CO2 commenced within 4 hours after injection of 1,25-dihydroxy-[26,27-14C] vitamin D3, suggesting a possible relevance of this reaction to the function of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. These results at least demonstrate a new metabolic pathway of vitamin D3 metabolism involving the oxidation of a portion of the side chain of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 to CO2.
1alpha-Hydroxy [6-3H]vitamin D3 has been synthesized with a specific activity of 4 Ci/mmol, and its metabolism in rats has been studied. It is rapidly converted to 1alpha,25-dihydroxy [6-3H]vitamin D3 in vivo. Following an intravenous or oral dose, a maximal concentration of 1alpha,25-dihydroxy [6-3H]vitamin D3 is found 2 and 4 hours, respectively, before the maximal intestinal calcium transport response is observed. Similarly, 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 accumulation in bone precedes the bone calcium mobilization response. It appears, therefore, that the biological activity of 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 is largely, if not exclusively, due to its conversion to 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 1alpha-Hydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 and 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 appear in intestine equally well after an oral or an intravenous dose of 1alpha-hydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3. However, much less of both 1alpha-hydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 and 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 appears in bone and blood after an oral than after an intravenous dose. A much reduced bone calcium mobilization response is also noted following an oral dose as compared to an intravenous dose of 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3, suggesting that oral 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 is not utilized as well as intravenously administered material.
Chicks convert both orally and intravenously administered 1alpha-hydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 rapidly to 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3. The maximal accumulation of 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 in intestine precedes the intestinal absorption response to 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 by at least 2 hours. Oral administration results in the highest concentrations of 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 in intestine, giving a level about 1.5 times that achieved with an intravenous dose. On the other hand, an oral dose of 1alpha-hydroxy[6-3H]vitaminD3 gives much lower amounts of both 1alpha-hydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 and 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 in bone and blood than an intravenous dose, which suggests that the 1alpha-hydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 may not be utilized as well by the oral route as by an intravenous route. Liver homogenates from both rat and chick convert 1alpha-hydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 to 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3. However, intestinal homogenates from chick, but not rat, can also cary out this conversion, which may account for the higher concentration of 1alpha,25-dihydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3 found in the intestine of chicks given an oral dose of 1alpha-hydroxy[6-3H]vitamin D3.
24R,24,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 is capable of inducing a minimal intestinal calcium transport response in chicks when compared to an equal amount of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. 1,24,25-Trihydroxyvitamin D3 is also less active than 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and its activity is much shorter lived than that of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. A comparison of the metabolism of 25-hydroxy[26,27-3H]vitamin D3 and 24,25-dihydroxy[26,27-3H]vitamin D3 in the rat and chick shows that 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and 1,24,25-trihydroxyvitamin D3 disappear at least 10 times more rapidly from the blood and intestine of chicks. Furthermore, examination of the excretory products from both of these species demonstrates that chicks receiving a single dose of 24,25-dihydroxy[26,27-3H]vitamin D3 excrete 66% of the total radioactivity by 48 hours, whereas rats receiving the same dose excrete less than one-half that amount. These results demonstrate that 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is considerably less biologically active in the chick than in the rat, probably due to more rapid metabolism and excretion.