Osteopontin: A potential biomarker for successful allergen immunotherapy

Abstract Rationale Both biomarkers and regulatory mechanisms related to successful allergen immunotherapy remain undefined. To clarify these further, we have investigated patterns of gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of venom allergic patients pre and post venom immunotherapy (VIT). Methods Gene-chip array analysis was performed to identify differential gene expression in the PBMCs of 3 study groups: (1): 3 subjects not on VIT (no-VIT); (2): 3 subjects on VIT for Results Gene clustering analysis of expression profiles identified a unique cluster of genes with lower levels of expression for OPN in the “no VIT” group as compared to the “VIT”, and particularly the “disc-VIT” groups. These osteopontin expression profiles results were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR. A significantly higher level of serum OPN was measured in the “disc-VIT” group as compared to the “no VIT” group (n=17 in each group; p Conclusions OPN is reportedly involved in Th1-associated immune responses. Our data support OPN's use as a biomarker and possibly a regulatory molecule in allergen immunotherapy.