Higher plasma/serum levels of the
protein osteopontin may be considered as a critical factor to distinguish
rheumatoid arthritis from osteoarthritis.
According to a recent Systematic
Review and Meta-Analysis, the patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) exhibited
significant serum/plasma levels of osteopontin (OPN) which may become an
essential factor to distinguish RA from OA. Before this analysis, the
association of osteopontin (OPN) and other proteins, osteocalcin (OCN) and
osteoprotegerin (OPG) with RA and OA were not well understood. Therefore, this
analysis was conducted to obtain clarity.
The Embase, the Cochrane Library
and PubMed were electronically searched to identify literature comparing
plasma/serum OCN, OPN and OPG levels. The quality of the study was estimated
using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The random-effect model analysis was used to
determine the pooled standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence
interval (CI) and Q statistic and quantified using I2 for Heterogeneity test
determination.
A total of nine studies with 255
OA and 438 RA patients were selected. RA patients exhibited higher serum/plasma
OPN levels than OA patients. No difference was noticed for OCN and OPG levels
between OA and RA patients. The RA patients and OA patients in Europe and Asian
also exhibited no difference in the OPG plasma/serum levels as per subgroup
analysis. On the basis of these findings, only OPN plasma/serum levels found to
have variations which help to distinguish RA from OA.
Immunological Investigations
Circulating Levels of Osteoprotegerin, Osteocalcin and Osteopontin in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Li-Na Liu et al.
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