Expression of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with acute Charcot neuroarthropathy.

The receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB (RANK), ligand (RANK-L) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) are implicated in the pathogenesis of acute Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN). This study aimed to investigate the expression of RANK-L and OPG in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with acute CN. We found that the expression of RANK-L was lower in patients with acute CN as compared with diabetic control subjects and healthy control participants; whereas OPG expression was not detected in patients and in both control groups.