Using Osteopontin As A Novel Biomarker in The Diagnosis of Asthma

Abstract

Background. Osteopontin, a multifunctional glycoprotein involved in inflammation and tissue remodeling, is a novel promising biomarker in respiratory pathologies, including asthma. Materials and methods. This matched case–control study was conducted on 82 asthma patients and 68 age-matched healthy cases presented to Babylon Teaching Hospital, Iraq, from March 2024 to February 2025. Definitions. Patients were categorized into intermittent, mild, moderate, and severe asthma based on their clinical profiles and pulmonary function tests. Measurement. Serum osteopontin levels were quantified by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay standardized method. Results. Patients showed a significantly higher mean serum osteopontin level of 45.8 ± 9.6 ng/mL than that recorded by controls of 22.5 ± 6.8 ng/mL. There was a stepwise and significant rise in osteopontin levels according to the previous asthma severity grades: the smallest 33.2 ± 6.5 ng/mL, the low 39.6 ± 8.2 ng/mL, the moderate 46.9 ± 9.1 ng/mL, and the high 54.7 ± 10.4 ng/mL; the difference among groups was highly significant = 18.46, P < 0.001. Post Hoc analysis showed that each severity level was significantly different from the others. ROC curve of osteopontin. The area under the curve revealed excellent diagnostic performance of osteopontin = 0.902, P < 0.001. The optimal osteopontin cut-off value of 30.5 ng/mL deduced 86.4% sensitivity and 83.8% specificity for asthma diagnosis. Conclusion. Serum osteopontin is significantly raised in asthma patients and correlates well with previous severity categories. The excellent diagnostic accuracy deduces osteopontin as a valuable tool in diagnosing, monitoring, and grading asthmatic cases on clinical criteria.

Keywords:

Osteopontin, Novel Biomarker, Asthma, Sensitivity, Specificity

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