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The elevated level of osteopontin in patients with pemphigus vulgaris: A cytokine‐like protein with a therapeutic potential
Author(s) -
Ketabi Yasaman,
Nasiri Soheila,
Kheirodin Maedeh,
Tavakolpour Soheil,
Mozafari Nikoo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
dermatologic therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1529-8019
pISSN - 1396-0296
DOI - 10.1111/dth.12973
Subject(s) - pemphigus vulgaris , osteopontin , medicine , pemphigus , antibody , immunology , autoimmune disease , pathogenesis , immune system , desmoglein , cytokine , desmoglein 3 , autoantibody
Background Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a life‐threatening autoimmune disease with no certain treatment. Anticytokine therapy is being increasingly discussed in multiple autoimmune diseases. Osteopontin (OPN) is a glycoprotein produced by a variety of immune cells. Increased OPN serum levels have been reported in several autoimmune diseases, with targeting OPN considered as a promising therapy in these diseases. However, the role of OPN in PV has not been well studied so far. Objective To investigate whether OPN level is elevated in PV patients in the active stage of the disease and to examine its possible relationship with disease severity and anti‐desmoglein (anti‐Dsg) antibodies levels. Materials and Methods This study included 53 consecutive subjects affected by PV and 38 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls. Clinical characteristics and Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS) were assessed. Serum OPN levels (pg/mL) and anti‐Dsg antibodies were also measured. Results The serum OPN level of the patient group proved to be statistically higher than that of the control group (11.08 ± 5.24 vs 8.47 ± 5.68; p = .02). No significant relationship were detected between the serum OPN level and anti‐Dsg1 or anti‐Dsg3 antibodies ( r = 0.1, p = .2 and r = 0.1, p = .4), respectively. In addition, no correlation was found between serum OPN levels and severity of PV as measured by ABSIS ( r = 0.08 and p = .5). Conclusion The growth observed in OPN levels in pemphigus patients suggests the role of OPN in pemphigus pathogenesis, but there is a need for more extensive studies to show how OPN can be associated with the PV pathogenesis and whether OPN could be used as an important therapeutic target in pemphigus disease.