rank

Receptor activator of nuclear factor κ B (RANK), also known as TRANCE receptor or TNFRSF11A, is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) molecular sub-family. RANK is the receptor for RANK-Ligand (RANKL) and part of the RANK/RANKL/OPG signaling pathway that regulates osteoclast differentiation and activation. It is associated with bone remodeling and repair, immune cell function, lymph node development, thermal regulation, and mammary gland development. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a decoy receptor for RANKL, and regulates the stimulation of the RANK signaling pathway by competing for RANKL. The cytoplasmic domain of RANK binds TRAFs 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 which transmit signals to downstream targets such as NF-κB and JNK. RANK is constitutively expressed in skeletal muscle, thymus, liver, colon, small intestine, adrenal gland, osteoclast, mammary gland epithelial cells, prostate, vascular cell, and pancreas. Most commonly, activation of NF-κB is mediated by RANKL, but over-expression of RANK alone is sufficient to activate the NF-κB pathway. RANKL (receptor activator for nuclear factor κ B ligand) is found on the surface of stromal cells, osteoblasts, and T cells. Mutations affecting RANK have been associated with infantile malignant osteopetrosis in humans, mice and cats.

A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial.

People

Formal ranks

Academic rank Corporate title Diplomatic rank Hierarchy of the Catholic Church Imperial, royal and noble ranks Military rank Police rank

Unofficial ranks

Social class Social position Social status

Either

Seniority

Mathematics

Rank (differential topology) Rank (graph theory) Rank (linear algebra), the dimension of the vector space generated (or spanned) by a matrix's columns Rank (set theory) Rank (type theory) Rank of an abelian group, the cardinality of a maximal linearly independent subset Rank of an elliptic curve Rank of a free module Rank of a generalized eigenvector Rank of a greedoid, the maximal size of a feasible set Rank of a group, the smallest cardinality of a generating set for the group Rank of a Lie group – see Cartan subgroup Rank of a matroid, the maximal size of an independent set Rank of a partition, at least two definitions in number theory Rank of a tensor Rank of a vector bundle Rank statistics

Other

Taxonomic rank, in biology Rank (J programming language)

Names in other languages