ELECTRONIC LETTER

Genetic influences on the circulating cytokines involved in osteoclastogenesis

G Livshits¹, I Pantsulaia^1,2, S Trofimov¹, E Kobyliansky¹

¹ Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
² Department of Biomedicine, Institute of Medical Biotechnology, Georgian Academy of Sciences, Georgia

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Prof. G Livshits
Human Population Biology Research Unit, Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel; gregl@post.tau.ac.il

Keywords: osteoprotegerin; RANKL; M-CSF; heritability; model fitting

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The tumour necrosis factor family molecule RANKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand), its cellular receptor RANK, and the decoy receptor, osteoprotegerin (OPG) represent a novel cytokine triad with pleiotropic effects on bone metabolism, the immune system, and endocrine functions.¹ As illustrated in figure 1, RANKL is expressed on the osteoblast/stromal cell surface, binds to its receptor-RANK on the surface of haematopoietic precursor cells and, in the presence of macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF), stimulates differentiation, fusion, activation, and survival of osteoclasts.^2,3 These four molecules, acting in accord, are the major regulators of osteoclast formation and function. It has been claimed that binding M-CSF and RANKL to their respective receptors is the necessary and sufficient condition to initiate osteoclastogenesis.⁴ On the other hand, RANKL is abundantly produced by activated T lymphocytes, and it prevents apoptosis and prolongs survival of dendritic cells, which also express large amounts of the receptor . . . [Full text of this article]

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• Pantsulaia, I, Livshits, G, Trofimov, S, Kobyliansky, E (2007). Genetic and environmental determinants of circulating resistin level in a community-based sample. Eur J Endocrinol 156: 129-135 [Abstract] [Full Text]