The Effect of Osteoprotegerin (OPG)/Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-κB Ligand (RANKL)/Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-κB (RANK) on Aortic Valve Calcified

Luo, Wei
Wang, Jing
Yang, Xia
Li, Junshan
Song, Yanqiu
Cong, Hongliang

¹Department of Cardiovascular Disease, Tianjin Chest Hospital,
²Department of Pathology, Tianjin Chest Hospital,
³Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Tianjin Chest Hospital, and
⁴Angiocardiopathy Institute, Tianjin Chest Hospital, Tianjin, China

Address correspondence to Hongliang Cong; Department of Cardiovascular Disease, Tianjin Chest Hospital, No.261 Taierzhuang South Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin 300222, China; phone: +86 022 88185338; email: [email protected]

Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science 54(5):p 633-642, September-October 2024.

Abstract.

Objective.

To evaluate the effect of osteoprotegerin (OPG)/ receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (RANK) nuclear factor on aortic valve calcification.

Methods.

The aortic valve tissue was collected from 132 aortic stenosis (AS) patients who underwent valve replacement. The valve tissue was stained with hematoxylin eosin (HE) and alizarin red calcium salt deposition. At the same time, CD68, RUNX2, TRAP immunohistochemical staining and double staining were performed.

Results.

ELISA analysis showed that the peripheral blood OPG value in the severe calcification group was significantly higher than mild calcification group (P=0.000) and noncalcification group (P=0.000), while the content of peripheral blood sRANKL in the severe calcification group was significantly lower than that in the non-calcification group (P=0.001). The valval OPG value in the mild calcification group was significantly higher than that of the non-calcification group (P=0.001) and the severe calcification group (P=0.040), and the valval sRANKL value of the severe calcification group was significantly lower than that of the non-calcification group (P=0.000).

Conclusion.

The expression of OPG and RANKL can regulate the inflammatory reaction of valve and the balance between bone formation and resorption, thus affecting the progress of valve calcification.