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Osteopontin levels higher in patients with dermatomyositis, polymyositis
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Patients with dermatomyositis and polymyositis had higher levels of osteopontin in skeletal muscles and serum than control participants, according to researchers’ findings.
Forty-five patients with either dermatomyositis or polymyositis (DM / PM) who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Chonqing Medical University between July 2010 and June 2014 and diagnosed according to Bohan and Peter criteria were studied. Twenty-seven of the patients were diagnosed with PM, and 18 had a diagnosis of DM. Forty-five participants matched for age and gender were also included, in addition to 10 patients (four men and six women, ages 14 years to 60 years) who had normal serum creatinine kinase (CK), muscle histology, histochemistry, immunohistology and ultrastructural morphology but were suspected to have a neuromuscular disease.
Fifteen patients with DM / PM were men and 30 were women, with a mean age 41 years. At 2 months after of treatment with steroids, 37 patients had a good response and eight patients did not respond to treatment, according to the researchers.
Immunofluorescence showed, among cryostat sections in patients with DM / PM, osteopontin displayed an intense green signal in the cytoplasm of some fibers that were not visible in control muscle samples.
Osteopontin expression was higher in all 20 muscle samples from patients with DM / PM in which Western blots were conducted compared with control muscle samples. An increase of osteopontin expression was also seen in the muscles of patients with DM / PM on densitometric analysis of immunopositive bands compared with controls.
No significant differences were seen between patients with DM / PM, according to the researchers. - by Shirley Pulawski
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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