Plasma osteopontin predicts inflammatory bowel disease activities

A glycoprotein osteopontin (OPN) is involved in inflammatory diseases, but its roles in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are controversial. To analyze the involvement of the systemic immune response, we simultaneously examined plasma OPN levels and 17 cytokines. This study included 24 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, 17 Crohn's disease (CD) patients, and 23 normal controls. Clinical parameters were also examined. The plasma OPN levels of the UC and CD patients were significantly higher than those of the normal controls and correlated significantly with their clinical activity indices. In the UC patients, significant relationships were observed between the levels of plasma OPN and multiple cytokines, including interleukin (IL) -1β, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-13, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. In the CD patients, the correlation was not significant except for IL-8. Our findings reflect different inflammatory states of the colon and rectum in both diseases.