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. 2016 Nov 23;6(11):160230. doi: 10.1098/rsob.160230

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© 2016 The Authors.

Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Figure 1. — RANK/RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis. RANKL expression by osteocytes and osteoblasts is induced by vitamin D3, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and several cytokines including tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) and interleukin (IL)-1, -11 and -17. Interaction of membrane bound or soluble RANKL with RANK-expressing osteoclast precursor cells induces their differentiation and activation into mature osteoclasts. Expression of the decoy receptor osteoprotegerin (OPG) is induced by 17-β oestradiol, IL-4 or transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). OPG interferes with RANK/RANKL interaction thereby inhibition bone degradation.