Additionally, diseased gingival tissues exhibit increased IL-17 mRNA (Cardoso et al., 2009; Cardoso, Reis & Manzanares-Céspedes, 2018), and periodontitis lesions, particularly progressive ones, show higher IL-17 and RANKL mRNA expression compared to inactive lesions, indicating a potential link between Th17 cytokines, bone resorption, and periodontal disease activity (Özçaka, Nalbantsoy & Buduneli, 2011). Here, TNFSF11 is linked to periodontitis.