{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]],"date-time":"2026-10-20T13:11:56Z","timestamp":1792501916887,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,13]],"date-time":"2021-10-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1634083200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Endocrinol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>Vitamin D is critical for calcium and bone metabolism. Vitamin D insufficiency impairs skeletal mineralization and bone growth rate during childhood, thus affecting height and health. Vitamin D status in children with short stature is sparsely reported. The\u00a0purpose of the current study was to investigate various vitamin D components by high-performance liquid chromatography\u2013tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS\/MS) to better explore vitamin D storage of short-stature children<jats:italic>in vivo<\/jats:italic>.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Serum circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 [25(OH)D2], 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3], and 3-epi-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [3-epi-25(OH)D3, C3-epi] were accurately computed using the LC-MS\/MS method. Total 25(OH)D [t-25(OH)D] and ratios of 25(OH)D2\/25(OH)D3 and C3-epi\/25(OH)D3 were then respectively calculated. Free 25(OH)D [f-25(OH)D] was also measured.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>25(OH)D3 and f-25(OH)D levels in short-stature subgroups 2 (school age: 7~12 years old) and 3 (adolescence: 13~18 years old) were significantly lower compared with those of healthy controls. By contrast, C3-epi levels and C3-epi\/25(OH)D3 ratios in all the three short-stature subgroups were markedly higher than the corresponding healthy cases. Based on cutoff values developed by Endocrine Society Recommendation (but not suitable for methods 2 and 3), sufficient storage capacities of vitamin D in short-stature subgroups 1, 2, and 3 were 42.8%, 23.8%, and 9.0% as determined by Method 3 [25(OH)D2\/3+25(OH)D3], which were lower than those of 57.1%, 28.6%, and 18.2% as determined by Method 1 [25(OH)D2+25(OH)D3+C3-epi] and 45.7%, 28.5%, and 13.6% as determined by Method 2 [25(OH)D2\/3+25(OH)D3+C3-epi]. Levels of 25(OH)D2 were found to be weakly negatively correlated with those of 25(OH)D3, and higher 25(OH)D3 levels were positively correlated with higher levels of C3-epi in both short-stature and healthy control cohorts. Furthermore, f-25(OH)D levels were positively associated with 25(OH)D3 and C3-epi levels in children.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>The current LC-MS\/MS technique can not only separate 25(OH)D2 from 25(OH)D3 but also distinguish C3-epi from 25(OH)D3. Measurement of t-25(OH)D [25(OH)D2+25(OH)D3] alone may overestimate vitamin D storage in children, and short-stature children had lower vitamin D levels compared with healthy subjects. Ratios of C3-epi\/25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2\/25(OH)D3 might be alternative markers for vitamin D catabolism\/storage in short-stature children. Further studies are needed to explore the relationships and physiological roles of various vitamin D metabolites.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2021.707283","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,13]],"date-time":"2021-10-13T18:16:39Z","timestamp":1634148999000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Vitamin D Status in Children With Short Stature: Accurate Determination of Serum Vitamin D Components Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography\u2013Tandem Mass 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