{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T18:08:49Z","timestamp":1790100529222,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Bioscientifica","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788480000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":3,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.bioscientifica.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Matrix GLA protein (MGP) is involved in the regulation of extracellular matrix mineralisation, including bone formation. The peripubertal years are critical for linear growth and acquisition of bone mass. Emerging evidence suggests that plasma concentrations of dephosphorylated undercarboxylated MGP (dp-ucMGP) may vary across pubertal stages, potentially reflecting its role in bone remodelling.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study examines longitudinal changes in circulating plasma dp-ucMGP in two cohorts: 111 healthy Danish children (52% girls) aged 6\u201315 years from the Copenhagen Puberty Study and 15 female patients with central precocious puberty (CPP) before, during, and after GnRH analogue treatment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Age- and sex-specific reference curves were generated for healthy children and adolescents. Dp-ucMGP increased significantly with age and pubertal progression in both sexes, while it declined from mid-puberty exclusively in boys. In girls only, dp-ucMGP SD scores were associated with body weight and BMI. In girls with CPP, dp-ucMGP concentrations were lower compared with healthy puberty-matched girls (Tanner B2: P = 0.016, Tanner B3: P = 0.0072). Initiation of GnRH agonist in CPP resulted in a significant increase in dp-ucMGP (\u22121.21 SD (baseline) vs 0.30 SD (3 months), P = 0.0048) but plateaued after 12 months of treatment and further declined towards baseline at treatment cessation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We show that circulating dp-ucMGP concentrations increase with age and pubertal progression in healthy children, are lower in CPP patients, and are suppressed by GnRH agonist. Altogether, our findings support that circulating concentrations of dp-ucMGP reflect its role in bone remodelling and linear growth during puberty.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Plain language summary<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this study, we show that matrix GLA protein (MGP), a regulator of bone formation, increases with pubertal progression in healthy children but is suppressed when puberty is pharmacologically blocked in girls with early puberty. Our findings provide new insights into the potential role of MGP in bone growth during puberty.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1530\/ec-26-0408","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T15:30:12Z","timestamp":1788535812000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1530\/crossmarkpolicy-10","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Circulating matrix GLA protein during puberty in healthy and central precocious puberty children"],"prefix":"10.1530","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9576-8101","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Maria Bentz","family":"Damholt","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 1 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]},{"name":"International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 2 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0689-5549","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Stine A","family":"Holmboe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 1 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]},{"name":"International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 2 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"J\u00f8rgen Holm","family":"Petersen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 1 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]},{"name":"Section of Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen 3 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3800-4253","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Martin","family":"Blomberg Jensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Division of Translational Endocrinology, Copenhagen University Hospital-Herlev and Gentofte 4 , ,","place":["Herlev, Denmark"]},{"name":"Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen 5 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0534-4350","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Anders","family":"Juul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 1 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]},{"name":"International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 2 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]},{"name":"Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen 5 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8995-9116","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Li","family":"Juel Mortensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 1 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, Denmark"]},{"name":"International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital \u2013 Rigshospitalet 2 , ,","place":["Copenhagen, 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