Association of α2-HS Glycoprotein with Neurogenic Heterotopic Ossification in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the α2-HS glycoprotein concentrations in serum and the occurrence of neurogenic heterotopic ossification (NHO) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).Material/MethodsDuring the period between January 2011 and January 2012, 75 patients (67 male) with paraplegia caused by spinal cord injury were enrolled. The patients were divided into 2 groups in accordance with the occurrence of heterotopic ossification based on the results high-frequency ultrasound on the bilateral hip joint. The levels of α2-HS glycoprotein, C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) were detected by ELISA.ResultsWe found a significant decrease of α2-HS glycoprotein in SCI patients with NHO compared to SCI patients without NHO. In contrast, a significant elevation of serum calcium, D-dimer, BMP, and CRP was observed in SCI patients with NHO. The degree of maturity of NHO did not influence the level of α2-HS glycoprotein. Multivariate liner regression analysis showed that the level of serum α2-HS glycoprotein was correlated with CRP and spasticity.ConclusionsThe decreased level of α2-HS glycoprotein may be related to the formation of neurogenic heterotopic ossification in patients with spinal cord injury. Our results suggest that α2-HS glycoprotein might be a risk factor for NHO in patients with SCI.

Contemporary perspectives on heterotopic ossification

“…Owing to imaging modality limitations, investigators have also demonstrated the possible predictive value of serum biomarkers, including proteomic profiles of patients developing HO that have implicated known osteogenic signals like osteomodulin, osteocalcin, and collagen (121), and inflammatory cascades, including IL-6, IL-10, and MCP-1 (73). Interestingly, in the context of neural injury, decreased levels of α 2 -HS glycoprotein and increased calcium, D-dimer, BMP, and CRP were found to correlate with neurogenic HO formation (122). In addition to these classic proxy laboratory values for inflammation, cell-free nucleosomes, as fragments of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), also correlate with disease outcome measures (specifically in communityacquired pneumonia; ref.…”

Nontraumatic Myositis Ossificans After Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Case Report

“…Several serum markers, including ALP and CRP, can aid in the early detection of myositis ossificans. However, their diagnostic values are limited because they are not specific for myositis ossificans [ 4 6 ]. Serum ALP, a marker indicative of osteoblast activity, can remain within normal ranges during the initial phase of myositis ossificans.…”

Isobaric Tagging for Relative and Absolute Protein Quantification (iTRAQ)-Based Quantitative Proteomics Analysis of Differentially Expressed Proteins 1 Week After Spinal Cord Injury in a Rat Model

“…C3 deficiency can reduce inflammation by inhibiting TNF-α expression and AST activation, thus attenuating secondary injury, improving neural regeneration, and promoting functional recovery after SCI [ 34 ]. Ahsg may be a risk factor for neurogenic heterotopic ossification (NHO) in patients with SCI [ 35 ]. Apolipoprotein plays an important physiological role in lipoprotein metabolism.…”