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RANKL/Osteoprotegerin System and Bone Turnover in Hashimoto Thyroiditis

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Abstract

Hypothyroidism is associated with changes in bone metabolism. The impact of hypothyroidism and the associated autoimmunity on the mediators of bone turnover in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is not known. In this study, we assessed the levels of OPG, RANKL, and IL-6 along with markers of bone formation as osteocalcin (OC) and markers of bone resorption as type 1 collagen C telopeptide (CTX) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase isoform 5b (TRAcP 5b) in 30 hypothyroid and 30 euthyroid premenopausal HT patients and 20 healthy premenopausal controls. We found that TRAcP 5b (p = 0.006), CTX (p = 0.01), OC (p = 0.017), and IL-6 (p < 0.001) levels were lower in the hypothyroid group compared to euthyroid HT patients and controls. OPG levels were higher (p < 0.001) and RANKL levels were lower (p = 0.021) in hypothyroid and euthyroid HT patients compared to controls. TSH was negatively correlated with IL-6 (rho = −0.434, p < 0.001), OC (rho = −0.313, p = 0.006), TRAcP 5b (rho = −0.335, p = 0.003), and positively correlated with OPG (rho = 0.248, p = 0.029). RANKL/OPG ratio was independently associated with the presence of HT. In conclusion, bone turnover is slowed down by hypothyroidism in premenopausal patients with HT. Thyroid autoimmunity might have a unique impact on OPG/RANKL levels apart from the resultant hypothyroidism.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a grant from Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey (Grant Number: 01/2012-66). The study sponsors had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, and/or writing of the report.

Authors Contribution

CKD and MA designed the study. CKD, OTI, BAY were involved in patient selection and sample collection. SE, OTP, HP carried out the laboratory work. CKD, OTI, BAY did the data analysis. CKD, OTI, BAY, SE, OTP, HP, NC, MA worked on interpretation of the data and writing and the manuscript. All authors revised the paper critically for intellectual content and approved the final version. CKD is the guarantor of the paper. All authors agree to be accountable for the work and to ensure that any questions relating to the accuracy and integrity of the paper are investigated and properly resolved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Endokrinoloji ve Metabolizma BD, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Gazi Üniversitesi Hastanesi, 06100, Beşevler, Ankara, Turkey

    Ceyla Konca Degertekin, Ozlem Turhan Iyidir, Banu Aktas Yılmaz, Nuri Cakır & Metin Arslan

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Biyokimya AD, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Gazi Üniversitesi Hastanesi, 06100, Beşevler, Ankara, Turkey

    Sehri Elbeg, Ozge Tugce Pasaoglu & Hatice Pasaoglu

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  1. Ceyla Konca Degertekin
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Correspondence to Ceyla Konca Degertekin.

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Ceyla Konca Degertekin, Ozlem Turhan Iyidir, Banu Aktas Yılmaz, Sehri Elbeg, Ozge Tugce Pasaoglu, Hatice Pasaoglu, Nuri Cakır and Metin Arslan declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Konca Degertekin, C., Turhan Iyidir, O., Aktas Yılmaz, B. et al. RANKL/Osteoprotegerin System and Bone Turnover in Hashimoto Thyroiditis. Calcif Tissue Int 99, 365–372 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-016-0163-1

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