Serum osteopontin as a blood biomarker in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis Egyptian patients

Abstract

Background Osteopontin (OPN) is a widely expressed acidic glycoprotein, and is considered as an interesting biomarker because of its role in the pathophysiology of several inflammatory, degenerative, autoimmune, and oncologic diseases. This study aimed to evaluate serum OPN as a blood biomarker in relapsing–remitting multiple-sclerosis (RRMS) Egyptian patients and correlate it with disease activity. Patients and methods This case–control study recruited consecutively 90 patients divided into two groups: group I includes 30 age-matched and sex-matched healthy individuals as control group, and group II includes 60 RRMS patients, which in turn was subdivided into two subgroups: group IIa including 30 patients in remission and group IIb including 30 patients in relapse before receiving methyl prednisolone. All patients were subjected to full history taking, neurological examination using Expanded Disability Status Scale assessment, and laboratory investigations, including complete blood count, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and OPN-level measurement. Results A highly significant difference between group I and group II as regards OPN level (P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve for OPN level between group I and group II showed that the cutoff level of more than 8 can discriminate between both groups with 88.33% sensitivity and 100% specificity. There was a significant correlation between OPN level and AST (P < 0.05). Conclusion OPN can be used as an inflammatory biomarker to differentiate between RRMS patients and healthy individuals but cannot discriminate between remission and relapse in MS patients.