Assessment of sclerostin as abone metabolism marker in Egyptian children with nephrotic syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Using steroids as a medical line of treatment for pediatric idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) has a noxious aftereffect on the course of bone mineralization in the targeted children. Searching for new markers of bone mineralization seems to be an imperative issue. Sclerostin (Scl), a glycoprotein which is coded by the SOST gene, is noted as a pivotal controller of bone setup via its repressing outcome on Wnt signaling.The aim of this study was to assess the concentration of Scl level in children with INS and to correlate Scl level with other existing markers of bone metabolism.Methods: A case control study achieved on 70 children including 35 patients with INS on corticosteroid therapy and 35apparently well age and sex alike children as a control group. Kidney function testing, bone markers, parathyroid hormone, and serum sclerostin, were assayed in both research groups. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in serum Scl level between the studied groups, being higher in the nephrotic children than the control group (mean ± SD: 10.07 ± 3.650 vs. 5.29 ± 1.92, respectively with p<0.001). Among factors significantly correlated with serum sclerostin, only serum calcium was significantly independently associated with it (unstandardized β=-1.356). There was a statistically significant relation between serum Scl, steroid response and disease activity (p value= 0.001, 0.001 respectively).Conclusion: The sclerostin serum level can serve as an indicator of bone mineralization in children with INS utilizing corticosteroids as a therapeutic agent