UCSF

There are increasing evidences suggesting bone marrow adiposity tissue (MAT) plays a critical role in affecting both bone quantity and quality. However, very limited studies that have investigated the association between the composition of MAT and bone mineral density (BMD). The goal of this study was to quantify MAT unsaturation profile of marrow samples from post-menopausal women using ex vivo high-resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy, and to investigate the relationship between MAT composition and BMD. Bone marrow samples were obtained by iliac crest aspiration during surgical procedures from 24 postmenopausal women (65-89years) who had hip surgery due to bone fracture or arthroplasty. Marrow fat composition parameters, in particular, unsaturation level (UL), mono-unsaturation level (MUL) and saturation level (SL), were quantified using HRMAS ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The patients were classified into three groups based on the DXA BMD T-scores: controls, osteopenia and osteoporosis. Marrow fat composition was compared between these three groups as well as between subjects with and without factures using ANOCOVA, adjusted for age. Subjects with lower BMD (n=17) had significantly lower MUL (P=0.003) and UL (P=0.039), and significantly higher SL (P=0.039) compared to controls (n=7). When separating lower BMD into osteopenia (n=9) and osteoporosis (n=8) groups, subjects with osteopenia had significantly lower MUL (P=0.002) and UL (P=0.010), and significantly higher SL (P=0.010) compared to healthy controls. No significant difference was observed between subjects with osteopenia and osteoporosis. Using HRMAS ¹H NMR, significantly lower unsaturation and significantly higher saturation levels were observed in the marrow fat of subjects with lower BMD. HRMAS ¹H NMR was shown to be a powerful tool for identifying novel MR markers of marrow fat composition that are associated with bone quality and potentially fracture, and other bone pathologies and changes after treatment. A better understanding of the relationship between bone marrow composition and bone quality in humans may identify novel treatment targets, and provide guidance on novel interventions and therapeutic strategies for bone preservation.