Evaluation of the association of osteoporosis, abdominal aortic calcification and system osteoprotegerin/RANKL in a population of individuals aged 65 years or more

Abstract

For a long time atherosclerosis and osteoporosis were considered distinct diseases whose common feature was the increase in incidence with age. Currently there is growing evidence of the correlation between cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, regardless of age. The pathophysiology of these diseases seems to coincide in many biochemical pathways. Both are chronic degenerative diseases with high incidence in the general population and considered the two biggest problems in public health. After the discovery of the molecule of osteoprotegerin (OPG), belonging to the family of protein receptors of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), the association between osteoporosis and vascular calcification become more evident. Knockout mice for the gene for OPG have osteoporosis and calcification of aorta and renal arteries, and these changes may regress with the restoration of transgenic osteoprotegerin. The ligand of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa ² (RANKL) is a protein also belonging to the TNF family, is highly expressed in osteoblast and T cells. The cellular response to RANKL is not only dependent of the level of expression of its receptor RANK, but also the presence of OPG that competes with the RANK by RANKL. The system OPG / RANKL system is an important role in bone biology and possibly in the vascular system. The aim of this study is to evaluate: 1) the association of osteoporosis and abdominal aortic calcification in a population of elderly individuals, 2) the presence of osteoporosis and/or abdominal aortic calcification with the serum levels of OPG and RANKL and 3) the presence of osteoporosis and/or abdominal aortic calcification with the presence of polymorphisms of the osteoprotegerin and RANKL gene. (AU)