الفهرس 
Study of serum osteopontin levels in egyptian children with bronchial asthma
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Abstract
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells and cellular elements play a role: in particular, mast cells, eosinophil, T lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and epithelial cells. In susceptible individuals, this inflammation causes recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing, particularly at night or early in the morning. Osteopontin (OPN) is an extracellular matrix protein and immune modulator. It is produced by mast cells and affects IgE- mediated degranulation and migration of mast cells and other inflammatory cells and the development of airway fibrosis. OPN plays multiple roles in the regulation of allergic responses. It plays a role in the migration of eosinophils into the airways which is a feature of allergic airway disease.
Objective: This study aimed to detect the serum level of OPN in Egyptian asthmatic children.
Subjects and methods: This case-control study included 60 children aged 5-15 years, 36 children were diagnosed with different severity of asthma (by GINA criteria) following at the pediatric allergy and pulmonology clinic of Cairo university and 36 served as controls were enrolled in our study. Serum Osteopontin level was measured in both groups.
Results: showed highly statistically significant difference found between the asthmatic group and control group regarding to Osteopontin serum level with (p-value =0.001). Moreover, Osteopontin level showed no significant difference with different asthma severity (P -value = 0.899).Also, Osteopontin level showed no significant difference with degree of asthma control (P value = 0.758). Most of the asthmatic patients (67%) gave a family history of different allergic conditions.
Conclusion: Asthmatic children exhibit higher serum OPN levels than control suggesting the role of OPN in the pathogenesis of asthma. Serum OPN is a promising marker in diagnosis of bronchial asthma.