Ingredient framework; direct source links are available in the studies library when published.
How it works
Transform -- enzymatic cofactor for gamma-carboxylation of vitamin K-dependent proteins (osteocalcin, matrix Gla-protein)
Build -- activates osteocalcin, enabling calcium incorporation into bone matrix during bone formation
Maintain -- activated matrix Gla-protein is proposed to inhibit ectopic calcium deposition in arterial tissue, supporting vascular tissue upkeep
Exchange -- MK-7's longer isoprenoid side chain gives it a much longer circulating half-life than MK-4 or vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), allowing it to accumulate steady tissue levels with once-daily dosing -- the pharmacokinetic reason MK-7 is favored in maintenance-dose supplements while MK-4's shorter half-life is why Japanese clinical trials use gram-per-day-range doses
Maintain -- MK-4 specifically (not MK-7) is also synthesized locally in a few tissues -- including brain, pancreas, and salivary glands -- from dietary precursors via a conversion enzyme (UBIAD1), suggesting a tissue-specific local role distinct from the liver-made clotting-factor pool
Form matters
The same nutrient can be made in very different forms -- and a study done on one form does not automatically apply to another. Methylcobalamin is not cyanocobalamin; magnesium glycinate is not magnesium oxide; a whole-food extract is not the synthetic isolate that was studied. Two things decide whether what is in the bottle behaves like the research: the exact form, and independent lab verification (a Certificate of Analysis) that the form and dose on the label are truly what is inside. Without a COA, you are trusting a label, not the science.
Across your systems
K2 activates osteocalcin (directing calcium into bone) and matrix Gla-protein (keeping calcium out of arterial walls) -- the same activation chemistry, two different Gla-proteins, which is why it is discussed alongside both bone-formula and cardiovascular-adjacent research.
The science on Vitamin K2 (MK-4 and MK-7)
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Related reading
Articles that go deeper on Vitamin K2 (MK-4 and MK-7).