Similar with our findings, the participation of TLR9 in diabetes or bone-related diseases has been reported; for instance, the downregulation of TLR9 due to Dkk-1 knockdown contributed to alleviated cartilage destruction as well as subchondral bone injury in osteoarthritic knee joints, in part by modulating the bone density [38]. The gene discussed is TLR9; the disease is diabetes mellitus.