Plasma levels of osteopontin from birth to adulthood

Abstract

Aim: Osteopontin (OPN) has been investigated as a biomarker for cancer and nonmalignant diseases during the last decades. Data about OPN as a potential biomarker in childhood diseases are still sparse, and reference values are not available in children. We aimed to establish reference values for children from birth to young adulthood and evaluate whether there are age-, gender-, and weight-specific differences. Method:Umbilical cord blood and blood plasma samples of 117 children were collected in the Children's Hospital of Saarland University in Homburg/Saar. OPN levels were measured by ELISA, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.Results: Neonates, infants, toddlers, young children, adolescents, and adults were divided into the following six age groups: newborns (birth), infancy and toddlers (0-24 months), early childhood (3-6 years), middle childhood (7-11 years), adolescence (12-18 years), and adults (> 18 years).Highest blood OPN levels were found in the group of 0-1 years of age. OPN blood levels declined significantly with age (Spearman r = −0.874; P < 0.001). Conclusion:Our work is the first prospective and systematic study analyzing OPN cord blood and blood plasma levels in children of all ages. It is the first study yielding reference values for different age groups from birth to young adulthood. Our data give insight on how OPN in umbilical cord blood and OPN in blood plasma are physiologically influenced during childhood development and growth with high OPN levels after birth and a constant age-related decline until the age of 14, when OPN levels reach similar values to those measured in adults.

Osteopontin and malaria: no direct effect on parasite growth, but correlation with P. falciparum-specific B cells and BAFF in a malaria endemic area

“…In our study, mean OPN plasma concentrations in cord blood and in mothers at delivery were 332 ng/mL and 73 ng/mL respectively, concentrations comparable to studies performed in non-endemic countries [ 44 , 47 – 49 ]. Similar to our results, previous reports have presented increased mean OPN concentrations in infants compared to adults [ 44 , 48 , 50 ] and no significant difference between pregnant and non-pregnant women [ 47 , 48 ]. A prospective study aiming to establish OPN reference values in different age groups in Germany, demonstrated that OPN values in plasma were age dependent [ 50 ].…”

“…Similar to our results, previous reports have presented increased mean OPN concentrations in infants compared to adults [ 44 , 48 , 50 ] and no significant difference between pregnant and non-pregnant women [ 47 , 48 ]. A prospective study aiming to establish OPN reference values in different age groups in Germany, demonstrated that OPN values in plasma were age dependent [ 50 ]. However, the mean OPN plasma concentration in cord blood and in adults were markedly higher (2300 ± 552 ng/mL and 330 ng/mL) compared to our results.…”

Urinary stone composition in Germany: results from 45,783 stone analyses

“…Osteopontin, an inhibitor of CaOx stone formation, has been reported to modify CaOx crystallisation kinetics towards the formation of COD rather than COM [ 25 ]. Decreasing blood levels of osteopontin with age could favour higher COD proportions with increasing age [ 26 ].…”

Protein profiles in plasma: Development from infancy to 5 years of age

“…[ 21 ] In agreement with our data, human plasma SPP1 was recently found to have a constant age‐related decline from birth until the age of 14 years with the highest levels between 0 and 24 months of age. [ 22 ] Cluster 3, which included an increase in protein levels between 12 and 24 months, included proteins that may be induced by the immune stimulation associated with entering preschool, in Sweden usually at 1.5 years of age, as exemplified by TNF. [ 23 ] The costimulatory protein CD40, required for activating antigen‐presenting cells, [ 24 ] showed a cluster 4 profile, which may illustrate a successively maturing immune system.…”