Expression of Osteopontin in Patients with Thyroid Dysfunction

Abstract

The thyroid gland synthesizes and secretes T3 and T4 hormones and these hormones play an important role in the functioning of the body, affect metabolism, brain development, breathing, heart and nervous system functions, body temperature, muscle strength, skin dryness, menstrual cycles, weight, and cholesterol levels(Di Lauro & De Felice. 2001). Recently, osteopontin (OPN), a multifunctional extracellular matrix protein biosynthesized by a variety of tissue types including fibroblasts, osteoblasts, dendritic cells and macrophages, has been recognized as a potent proinflammatory cytokine (Gianoukakis et al, 2008) . Our study was conducted on 80 adults aged (18-60) years individuals. Thirty normal control volunteers, twenty five hyperthyroidism patients and twenty five hypothyroidism patients. All participants were subjected to full medical history taking, General clinical examination and Laboratory investigations including (Osteopontin, TSH, free T3, free T4,Total Calcium, phosphorus, Alkaline Phosphatase, FBG, 2hrPP,HbA1C, Urea, Creatinine). It shows ahighlysignificant difference between all groups in Osteopontin, TSH, fT3 and fT4 (p-value < 0.001).There was no significantdifference between all groups in Weight, total Ca, Alk.Ph., PO4, HbA1C, Urea , Creatinine, BMI, FBG and 2hrPP (p-value >0.05) .