Aromatase Activity and Bone Loss in Men.pdfVIP

SAGE-Hindawi Access to Research Journal of Osteoporosis Volume 2011, Article ID 230671, 11 pages doi:10.4061/2011/230671 Review Article Aromatase Activity and Bone Loss in Men Daniela Merlotti, Luigi Gennari, Konstantinos Stolakis, and Ranuccio Nuti Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrine-Metabolic Sciences and Biochemistry, Viale Bracci 1, 53100 Siena, Italy Correspondence should be addressed to Daniela Merlotti, merlotti4@unisi.it Received 1 March 2011; Accepted 20 April 2011 Academic Editor: Pawel Szulc Copyright © 2011 Daniela Merlotti et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Aromatase is a specific component of the cytochrome P450 enzyme system responsible for the transformation of androgen precursors into estrogens. This enzyme is encoded by the CYP19A1 gene located at chromosome 15q21.2, that is, expressed in ovary and testis, but also in many extraglandular sites such as the placenta, brain, adipose tissue, and bone. The activity of aromatase regulates the concentrations of estrogens with endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine effects on target issues including bone. Importantly, extraglandular aromatization of circulating androgen precursors is the major source of estrogen in men. Clinical and experimental evidences clearly indicate that aromatase activity and estrogen production are necessary for longitudinal bone growth, the attainment of peak bone mass, pubertal growth spurt, epiphyseal closure, and normal bone remodeling in young individuals. Moreover, with aging, individual differences in aromatase activity may significantl