Increased expression of osteopontin is associated with long-term bee venom immunotherapy

Venom allergen immunotherapy (VIT) is proven to be highly effective for insect allergy, but the mechanisms and the biomarkers associated with clinical efficacy remain elusive.

The aim of this study was to identify candidate biomarkers associated with successful VIT.

Gene chip array and clustering analyses of PBMCs from subjects with or without VIT were performed.

From gene chip array and clustering analyses, an increased expression of osteopontin was found in patients who completed 5 to 6 years of VIT and discontinued therapy for 3 to 6 years (completed treatment group) compared with the untreated group. A significantly higher level of serum osteopontin was found in the completed treatment group compared with the untreated group (n = 16 in each group; P < .001).

The upregulation of osteopontin after VIT suggests a role of osteopontin as a candidate biomarker for VIT.