Nattopharma (Norway)

Hyperphosphataemia is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality. Recently, phosphate binders (PBs), which are used to bind intestinal phosphate, have been shown to bind vitamin K, thereby potentially aggravating vitamin K deficiency. This vitamin K binding by PBs may offset the beneficial effects of phosphate reduction in reducing vascular calcification (VC). Here we assessed whether combining PBs with vitamin K2 supplementation inhibits VC. We performed 3/4 nephrectomy in rats, after which warfarin was given for 3 weeks to induce vitamin K deficiency. Next, animals were fed a high phosphate diet in the presence of low or high vitamin K2 and were randomized to either control or one of four different PBs for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was the amount of thoracic and abdominal aorta VC measured by high-resolution micro-computed tomography (µCT). Vitamin K status was measured by plasma MK7 levels and immunohistochemically analysed in vasculature using uncarboxylated matrix Gla protein (ucMGP) specific antibodies. The combination of a high vitamin K2 diet and PB treatment significantly reduced VC as measured by µCT for both the thoracic (P = 0.026) and abdominal aorta (P = 0.023), compared with MK7 or PB treatment alone. UcMGP stain was significantly more present in the low vitamin K2-treated groups in both the thoracic (P < 0.01) and abdominal aorta (P < 0.01) as compared with high vitamin K2-treated groups. Moreover, a high vitamin K diet and PBs led to reduced vascular oxidative stress. In an animal model of kidney failure with vitamin K deficiency, neither PB therapy nor vitamin K2 supplementation alone prevented VC. However, the combination of high vitamin K2 with PB treatment significantly attenuated VC.

We at NattoPharma applaud the authors of this new paper "Bioavailability and Chemical/Functional Aspects of Synthetic MK-7 vs Fermentation-Derived MK-7 in Randomised Controlled Trials", and your journal for publishing an article to further increase the understanding and importance of Vitamin K2 as Menaquinone-7 (MK-7). Nattopharma has been at the forefront of sponsoring and publishing Vitamin K2 research for the past 10 years and we are encouraged to see efforts to build the body of knowledge.