The imbalance between osteoprotegerin and cathepsin K in the serum of patients with longstanding rheumatoid arthritis

Osteoprotegerin (OPG) and soluble receptor activator of NF-kappa B ligand (sRANKL) together regulate the bone metabolism among other cytokines, whereby cathepsin K has a potent collagen-degrading activity. An imbalance of this system may be partly responsible for the skeletal complications of RA. Expanding on a previous study, we investigated the relationship between OPG, sRANKL and cathepsin K levels in the serum of patients with longstanding RA. We measured serum levels of OPG, sRANKL and cathepsin K of 100 patients with active, longstanding RA. We detected elevated serum levels of cathepsin K (median 54.8 pmol/l) and OPG (median 4.8 pmol/l), but normal sRANKL levels (median 0.2 pmol/l). Cathepsin K did not show a correlation with the overexpressed OPG (P = 0.64) and sRANKL (P = 0.81). The radiological destruction correlates significantly with cathepsin K (P = 0.004) and OPG (P = 0.007). We speculate that the increased levels of OPG are effective in compensating the action of sRANKL, but do not directly prevent bone degradation, as reflected by the elevated serum levels of cathepsin K.