RANKL Cytokine: From Pioneer of the Osteoimmunology Era to Cure for a Rare Disease

Since its identification, the RANKL cytokine has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in bone homeostasis and lymphoid tissue organization. Genetic defects impairing its function lead to a peculiar form of autosomal recessive osteopetrosis (ARO), a rare genetic bone disease presenting early in l...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nadia Lo Iacono, Alessandra Pangrazio, Mario Abinun, Robbert Bredius, Marco Zecca, Harry C. Blair, Paolo Vezzoni, Anna Villa, Cristina Sobacchi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Clinical and Developmental Immunology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/412768
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850176540984213504
author Nadia Lo Iacono
Alessandra Pangrazio
Mario Abinun
Robbert Bredius
Marco Zecca
Harry C. Blair
Paolo Vezzoni
Anna Villa
Cristina Sobacchi
author_facet Nadia Lo Iacono
Alessandra Pangrazio
Mario Abinun
Robbert Bredius
Marco Zecca
Harry C. Blair
Paolo Vezzoni
Anna Villa
Cristina Sobacchi
author_sort Nadia Lo Iacono
collection DOAJ
description Since its identification, the RANKL cytokine has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in bone homeostasis and lymphoid tissue organization. Genetic defects impairing its function lead to a peculiar form of autosomal recessive osteopetrosis (ARO), a rare genetic bone disease presenting early in life and characterized by increased bone density due to failure in bone resorption by the osteoclasts. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only option for the majority of patients affected by this life-threatening disease. However, the RANKL-dependent ARO does not gain any benefit from this approach, because the genetic defect is not intrinsic to the hematopoietic osteoclast lineage but rather to the mesenchymal one. Of note, we recently provided proof of concept of the efficacy of a pharmacological RANKL-based therapy to cure this form of the disease. Here we provide an overview of the diverse roles of RANKL in the bone and immune systems and review the clinical features of RANKL-deficient ARO patients and the results of our preclinical studies. We emphasize that these patients present a continuous worsening of the disease in the absence of a cure and strongly wish that the therapy we propose will be further developed.
format Article
id doaj-art-c648cdf9404447c896d13b9a0bb0f020
institution OA Journals
issn 1740-2522
1740-2530
language English
publishDate 2013-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Clinical and Developmental Immunology
spelling doaj-art-c648cdf9404447c896d13b9a0bb0f0202025-08-20T02:19:15ZengWileyClinical and Developmental Immunology1740-25221740-25302013-01-01201310.1155/2013/412768412768RANKL Cytokine: From Pioneer of the Osteoimmunology Era to Cure for a Rare DiseaseNadia Lo Iacono0Alessandra Pangrazio1Mario Abinun2Robbert Bredius3Marco Zecca4Harry C. Blair5Paolo Vezzoni6Anna Villa7Cristina Sobacchi8UOS/IRGB, Milan Unit, CNR, Milano, ItalyUOS/IRGB, Milan Unit, CNR, Milano, ItalyGreat North Children’s Hospital, Institute for Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKDepartment of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The NetherlandsPediatric Hematology/Oncology, Foundation IRCCS, San Matteo, Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Pathology, Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USAUOS/IRGB, Milan Unit, CNR, Milano, ItalyUOS/IRGB, Milan Unit, CNR, Milano, ItalyUOS/IRGB, Milan Unit, CNR, Milano, ItalySince its identification, the RANKL cytokine has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in bone homeostasis and lymphoid tissue organization. Genetic defects impairing its function lead to a peculiar form of autosomal recessive osteopetrosis (ARO), a rare genetic bone disease presenting early in life and characterized by increased bone density due to failure in bone resorption by the osteoclasts. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only option for the majority of patients affected by this life-threatening disease. However, the RANKL-dependent ARO does not gain any benefit from this approach, because the genetic defect is not intrinsic to the hematopoietic osteoclast lineage but rather to the mesenchymal one. Of note, we recently provided proof of concept of the efficacy of a pharmacological RANKL-based therapy to cure this form of the disease. Here we provide an overview of the diverse roles of RANKL in the bone and immune systems and review the clinical features of RANKL-deficient ARO patients and the results of our preclinical studies. We emphasize that these patients present a continuous worsening of the disease in the absence of a cure and strongly wish that the therapy we propose will be further developed.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/412768
spellingShingle Nadia Lo Iacono
Alessandra Pangrazio
Mario Abinun
Robbert Bredius
Marco Zecca
Harry C. Blair
Paolo Vezzoni
Anna Villa
Cristina Sobacchi
RANKL Cytokine: From Pioneer of the Osteoimmunology Era to Cure for a Rare Disease
Clinical and Developmental Immunology
title RANKL Cytokine: From Pioneer of the Osteoimmunology Era to Cure for a Rare Disease
title_full RANKL Cytokine: From Pioneer of the Osteoimmunology Era to Cure for a Rare Disease
title_fullStr RANKL Cytokine: From Pioneer of the Osteoimmunology Era to Cure for a Rare Disease
title_full_unstemmed RANKL Cytokine: From Pioneer of the Osteoimmunology Era to Cure for a Rare Disease
title_short RANKL Cytokine: From Pioneer of the Osteoimmunology Era to Cure for a Rare Disease
title_sort rankl cytokine from pioneer of the osteoimmunology era to cure for a rare disease
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/412768
work_keys_str_mv AT nadialoiacono ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease
AT alessandrapangrazio ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease
AT marioabinun ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease
AT robbertbredius ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease
AT marcozecca ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease
AT harrycblair ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease
AT paolovezzoni ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease
AT annavilla ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease
AT cristinasobacchi ranklcytokinefrompioneeroftheosteoimmunologyeratocureforararedisease