Figure 1
Relative leukocyte expression of genes important for immunity, wound healing and barrier function in subjects grouped by type of N-BP exposure (n = 30 oral, n = 31 intravenous) and recent history of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ, n = 6). Data presented are the fold change in gene expression relative to the N-BP-treatment naive controls (n = 26). Significant overall group differences were observed for RANK (p = 0.007), RANKL (p = 0.026), TNFA (p = 0.001), FGF9 (p < 0.001), GMCSF (p = 0.001), CTGF (p = 0.013), MMP7, and AHR (p < 0.001). The greatest mean difference in each case was between the intravenously N-BP treated subjects and those who had experienced ONJ with the latter consistently having the lowest levels of these genes relative to others. Only for the mRNA levels of MMP7 was the main difference only between the intravenous N-BP and the ONJ cohorts as the expression levels of oral N-BP subjects and treatment controls did not differ statistically in comparison to any other group. The actual ΔCT values are presented in the Table 2.