title: Upregulated Cellular Expression of IL-17 by CD4+ T-Cells in Osteoporotic Postmenopausal Women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study aimed to investigate cellular expression of IL-17 by CD4+ T-cells in osteoporotic postmenopausal women.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled 25 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis (PostMO) and 25 postmenopausal women with normal bone mineral density measurements (PostM) to examine the production of IL-17, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and receptor activator of nuclear factor x03BA;-B ligand (RANKL) by CD4+ T-cells and IL-17, RORx03B3;t, TNFα and RANKL mRNA levels in CD4+ T-cells. Circulating concentrations of IL-17 along with IL-6, TNFα, RANKL and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were also determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Osteoporotic postmenopausal women had higher serum concentrations of IL-17 (3.7 ± 1.3 vs. 2.5 ± 1.1 ng/ml, p = 0.042), IL-6 (158 ± 56 vs. 105 ± 39 pg/ml, p = 0.044), TNFα (138 ± 41 vs. 74 ± 11 pg/ml, p < 0.001) and OPG (1.7 ± 0.4 vs. 1.3 ± 0.4 ng/ml, p = 0.039) than healthy controls. The IL-17-producing CD4+ T-cells were higher in the PostMO group than in the PostM group (7.1 ± 2.4 vs. 4.9 ± 1.4%, p = 0.0015). Additionally, osteoporotic postmenopausal women had greater mRNA levels of IL-17 (3.5 ± 2.9 vs. 1.2 ± 1.0%, p = 0.019) and RORx03B3;t (5.7 ± 2.5 vs. 2.2 ± 1.0%, p < 0.001) in CD4+ T-cells than in healthy controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings implied that the upregulated production of IL-17 may play an important role in regulating bone loss in osteoporotic postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Renqing
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xinzheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D015519:Bone Density; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D057132:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3 / Q000097:blood; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000378:metabolism*; D053244:Osteoprotegerin / Q000097:blood; D017698:Postmenopause; D053245:RANK Ligand / Q000097:blood; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D020381:Interleukin-17; D057132:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3; D053244:Osteoprotegerin; D053245:RANK Ligand; C539900:RORC protein, human; C505688:TNFSF11 protein, human; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha