Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are commonly treated with vitamin D analogs, such as calcitriol. Recent epidemiological evidence revealed a significant interaction between vitamin D and magnesium, suggesting that increased magnesium improved mortality. The aim of the present study was to assess the mechanisms involved by determining whether magnesium combined with calcitriol treatments had an impact on vascular calcification (VC) in male Sprague-Dawley rats with adenine-induced CKD. Given alone, calcitriol increased the prevalence of VC; but when magnesium was given in combination, the severity of calcification was attenuated in the abdominal aorta, iliac and carotid arteries. The decreases in vascular calcium content were associated with an increase in vascular Mg. Calcitriol treatment alone significantly decreased TRPM7 protein whereas the combination treatment increased both the mRNA and protein expression. These findings suggest that modifying the adverse effect profile of calcitriol with Mg may be a plausible approach to benefiting CKD patients prescribed calcitriol.

See article at J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2015 355:451–462.

• Copyright © 2015 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics