Review Question - QID 212331

An 8-year-old boy is brought in for initial evaluation by a pediatrician after he was adopted from an international orphanage. On presentation, he is found to have difficulty with walking as well as bone and joint pain. The adoption papers for the child state that he was the product of a normal birth with no medical issues noted at that time. Since then, he has not seen a doctor until this presentation. Physical exam reveals bowed legs, hard lumps on his ribs, and tenderness to palpation over his bones. He is found to be low in a substance that directly promotes intestinal absorption of a nutrient. Which of the following is a characteristic of the substance that is abnormally low in this patient?