LAUSR

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, as determined by circulating levels of 25-hydroxycalciferol [25(OH)D], is greater in older individuals compared with the young. To examine the hypothesis that altered production or inactivation of 25(OH)D contributes to lower circulating levels of 25(OH)D, we measured the serum levels of parent vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and 25(OH)D. We also determined the relative abundance of transcripts encoding hepatic CYP2R1 and CYP27B1, the principal 25-hydroxylases, transcripts encoding enzymes that degrade 25(OH)D in the liver (Cyp3A11) and kidney (Cyp24A1) and transcripts encoding megalin and cubilin, proteins critical to vitamin D resorption in the kidney in mice at three different ages. We observed a significant decline in the relative abundance of Cyp2R1 in the liver with aging (one-way ANOVA, P = 0.0077). Concurrent with the decrease in mRNA, a significant decline in hepatic CYP2R1 protein (one-way ANOVA for trend, P = 0.007) and 25(OH)D (one-way ANOVA for trend, P = 0.002) and in the ratio of 25(OH)D3 to cholecalciferol (one-way ANOVA, P = 0.0003). By contrast, levels of the transcripts encoding Cyp3a11, Cyp24a1, and Cyp27b1 megalin and cubilin were unchanged with aging. A significant positive correlation was found between Cyp2r1 mRNA and 25(OH)D, and a stronger correlation was found between Cyp2r1 mRNA and the ratio of 25(OH)D3 to cholecalciferol. These results indicate that decreased expression of CYP2R1 contributes to the reduced serum levels of 25(OH)D in aging.