Department of Neurology, Amedeo Avogadro University, Novara, Italy.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2011;25(2):179-85. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2011-102151.
Osteopontin (OPN) was shown to be involved in inflammatory and degenerative processes of the nervous system. In multiple sclerosis, the role of OPN has been studied in the inflammatory phase, where it was shown that the protein levels increase during disease relapses. Moreover, it was shown that subjects who carry a genotype associated with decreased protein levels tend to display a benign course. Taken altogether, these findings suggest that OPN may play a detrimental role in multiple sclerosis, at least in the inflammatory phase. In common neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, OPN seems to act as a double-edged sword triggering neuronal toxicity and death in some contexts and functioning as a neuroprotectant in others. The involvement of OPN in several biological pathways and networks calls for more extensive research in order to unravel its role in the different disease phases and its potential as a therapeutic target.
骨桥蛋白 (OPN) 被证明参与了神经系统的炎症和退行性过程。在多发性硬化症中，OPN 的作用已在炎症阶段进行了研究，研究表明在疾病复发期间蛋白质水平会升高。此外，研究还表明，携带与蛋白质水平降低相关基因型的受试者往往表现出良性病程。综上所述，这些发现表明 OPN 可能在多发性硬化症中至少在炎症阶段发挥有害作用。在常见的神经退行性疾病中，如帕金森病和阿尔茨海默病，OPN 似乎起着双刃剑的作用，在某些情况下引发神经元毒性和死亡，而在其他情况下则作为神经保护剂发挥作用。OPN 参与了多个生物学途径和网络，需要进行更广泛的研究，以阐明其在不同疾病阶段的作用及其作为治疗靶点的潜力。
