Osteocalcin role in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases have been the leading cause of death worldwide for a long time. Despite numerous studies on the pathogenetic mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases, there are many debatable issues. In recent years, an increasing number of scientific reports have appeared regarding the presence of common mechanisms in the deve­lopment of bone tissue and arterial calcification. One of the connecting links in this interaction is considered to be the impact of osteocalcin. Osteocalcin is a vitamin K-dependent protein of the bone matrix, synthesized by osteoblasts. The main function of osteocalcin is the synthesis of hydroxyapatites as main mineral component of bone tissue. In addition, osteocalcin has a wide range of extraosseous effects, the most studied is participation in the regulation of glycolipid and ener­gy metabolism. Research on the osteocalcin role in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases are scarce, the available data is contradictory. For a deeper understanding of this problem, we conducted a systematic analysis of modern literature based on data from the scientific databases Medline (Pubmed), Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library for 2013–2023. According to its results, osteocalcin is a potential biomarker of cardiovascular status, its increased values are associated with a potentially protective mechanism against the development of cardiovascular diseases. Contradictory views on the understanding of the pathogenetic mechanism of influence of general osteocalcin and its forms on the course of cardiovascular diseases necessitate conduction of further research.