The association between the presence of C. pneumoniae DNA, both in bone tissue and PBMCs, and the increase in sRANKL/OPG ratio as well as in IL-1β and IL-6 levels observed in osteoporotic patients suggests C. pneumoniae infection as a new risk factor for osteoporosis.
The Taq I IL-1beta exon 5 gene polymorphism is associated with reduced BMD and predisposes women to osteoporosis at the lumbar spine, but our results should be interpreted with caution because of the small number of subjects with the unfavorable E1/E2 genotype.
Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is a potent stimulator of bone resorption, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of high bone turnover and osteoporosis.