ArticleArthritis research & therapy2017
RANK/RANKL/OPG system in the intervertebral disc.
Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between novel inflammatory indices and osteoporosis among older adults: evidence from a large multicenter study in China.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Chronic Low Back Pain in Young Adults: Pathophysiological Aspects of Neuroinflammation and Degeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Osteoporosis treatments for intervertebral disc degeneration and back pain: a perspective.JBMR plus · 2024Article
- Article
- Roles of organokines in intervertebral disc homeostasis and degeneration.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
- Article
- Expression of Glial-Cell-Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Family Ligands in Human Intervertebral Discs.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Correlation between protein expression profiling of inflammation and bone metabolism in rheumatoid arthritis patients.African health sciences · 2023Article
- Alterations of bovine nucleus pulposus cells with aging.Aging cell · 2023Article
- Article
- Bioinformatics-Based Research on Key Genes and Pathways of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.Cartilage · 2021Article
- Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells and their chondroprogenitor derivatives reduced pain and inflammation signaling and promote regeneration in a rat intervertebral disc degeneration model.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2021Article
- Inflammatory, Structural, and Pain Biochemical Biomarkers May Reflect Radiographic Disc Space Narrowing: The Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2020Article
- Interleukin-1β is a potential therapeutic target for periodontitis: a narrative review.International journal of oral science · 2020Review
- Involvement of the G-Protein-Coupled Receptor 4 in the Increased Expression of RANK/RANKL/OPG System and Neurotrophins by Nucleus Pulposus Cells under the Degenerated Intervertebral Disc-Like Acidic Microenvironment.BioMed research international · 2020Article
- Expression of the RANK/RANKL/OPG system in the human intervertebral disc: implication for the pathogenesis of intervertebral disc degeneration.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2019Article
- Effects of receptor activator nuclear factor κB gene polymorphisms on the susceptibility to knee osteoarthritis: A case-control study.Medicine · 2019Observational
- Platelet-rich plasma in the management of chronic low back pain: a critical review.Journal of pain research · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), a member of the TNF ligand superfamily, is known to regulate bone metabolism. The expression of each component of the RANK/RANKL/osteoprotegerin (OPG) system in the intervertebral disc (IVD) has not been examined in detail. The purposes of this study were to examine the expression of the RANK/RANKL/OPG system and to evaluate the function of RANKL in the matrix metabolism of the rat IVD.
methodsSprague-Dawley, 12-week-old, male rats were used in this study. Anulus fibrosus (AF), nucleus pulposus (NP) and cartilaginous endplate (CEP) cells isolated from dissected thoracolumbar discs were monolayer-cultured. RANK/RANKL/OPG expression in rat IVDs was examined using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemical analysis (cultured cells and IVD tissues). To examine the effect of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) stimulation on the mRNA levels of RANK, RANKL and OPG, the cells were cultured with or without recombinant human IL-1β (rhIL-1β). To evaluate the effect of RANKL on the mRNA expression of catabolic factors (IL-1β, matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and MMP-13), the cells were cultured with RANKL in the presence or absence of rhIL-1β. The immunohistochemical expression of this system was also evaluated using human IVD tissues with different grades of degeneration.
resultsmRNA expression levels of RANK, RANKL, and OPG were clearly identified in AF, NP and CEP cells. Immunoreactivity to RANK, RANKL and OPG was distributed in the cell membranes and/or cytoplasm of the three types of cells. The mRNA level of RANKL was significantly upregulated by treatment with rhIL-1β of the three types of cells. Treatment with RANKL without rhIL-1β did not induce significant effects on the mRNA expression of catabolic factors by AF, NP and CEP cells. However, the expression was significantly upregulated by stimulation with RANKL in the presence of rhIL-1β. There was a general trend for more RANK/RANKL/OPG-positive cells in human IVD tissues in an advanced stage of degeneration compared to an early stage.
conclusionsOur study showed the possibility that the RANK/RANKL/OPG system may play a part in the process of intervertebral disc degeneration.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.