Regucalcin and metabolic disorders: osteoporosis and hyperlipidemia are induced in regucalcin transgenic rats

Regucalcin transgenic (TG) rat has been generated to determine the role in metabolic disorders. Regucalcin homozygote male and female rats induce a prominent increase in regucalcin protein in the various tissues. Bone loss has been found to induce in regucalcin TG rats with growing (5 weeks old) and aging (50 weeks old). Osteoclastogenesis has been shown to stimulate in culture with the bone marrow cells obtained from regucalcin TG rats. Exogenous regucalcin stimulates osteoclastogenesis in mouse marrow culture in vitro. Regucalcin has a suppressive effect on the differentiation and mineralization in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells in vitro. The mechanism by which regucalcin TG rat induces bone loss may result from the enhancement of osteoclastic bone resorption and the suppression of osteoblastic bone formation. Moreover, regucalcin TG rat has been found to induce hyperlipidemia with increasing age (14–50 weeks); serum triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, free fatty acid, albumin and calcium concentrations are markedly increased in regucalcin TG male and female rats with increasing age. The decrease in lipid and glycogen contents in liver tissues is induced in regucalcin TG rats. The gene expression of leptin and adiponectin is suppressed in the TG rats. Overexpression of regucalcin has been shown to enhance glucose utilization and lipid production in the cloned rat hepatoma H4-II-E cells in vitro, and insulin resistance is seen in the cells. The expression of glucose transporter 2 mRNA is increased in the transfectants, while it has been shown to suppress insulin receptor and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase mRNA expressions that are involved in insulin signaling. This review proposes that regucalcin relates in osteoporosis and hyperlipidemia, and that the regucalcin TG rat model may be useful in determining the pathophysiologic state and the development of therapeutic tool for osteoporosis and hyperlipidemia.