Although the exact role of IL-17 in bone destruction in SLE patients remains unclear, IL-17 may affect bone remodeling through its effects on both osteoblasts and osteoclasts as discussed above; IL-17 can induce bone loss by mediating an imbalance in RANKL/OPG via the expression of RANKL in osteoblasts or activated T cells and can act in synergy with TNF-α or chemokines to influence osteoclast resorption [46, 75, 84, 85, 157]. This evidence concerns the gene TNFSF11 and systemic lupus erythematosus.