Association of plasma osteopontin with diabetic retinopathy in Asians with type 2 diabetes

Purpose Osteopontin (OPN) is a proinflammatory cytokine with diverse functions. Increased levels of OPN in vitreous fluid have been reported in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR); however, studies on circulating OPN levels in DR are limited. We aim to examine the association of plasma OPN levels with the presence and severity of DR in a multiethnic cohort with type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) in Singapore. Methods Plasma levels of OPN were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Digital color fundus photographs were assessed for DR. DR severity was categorized into non-proliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR (PDR). Gradable fundus photographs and OPN measurements for 443 patients were used for analysis. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate the association of OPN with DR. Results DR was diagnosed in 174 (39.3%) patients, including 132 (75.9%) with NPDR and 42 (24.1%) with PDR. The median of OPN was higher in the patients with DR (64.7 [49.7-89.5] ng/ml) than in the patients without DR (51.7 [38.9-66.9] ng/ml; p<0.001). After adjustment for clinical and biochemical factors, a 1-unit increase in nature logarithm (ln)-transformed OPN was associated with the presence of DR (2.770 [1.599-3.800], p<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) increased statistically significantly after the addition of OPN (0.805[0.763-0.846] versus 0.825 [0.785-0.865], p=0.011). In the severity analyses, the median of OPN was statistically significantly higher in the patients with PDR (76.8 [55.0-103.6] ng/ml) than in the patients with NPDR (61.7 [47.7-87.3] ng/ml; p=0.017). After adjustment, the 1-unit increase in lnOPN remained associated with NPDR (2.673 [1.519-4.704], p=0.001) and PDR (3.389 [1.254-9.226], p=0.017), respectively (p-trend=0.001). Conclusions Plasma OPN levels were associated with the presence and severity of DR in patients with type 2 diabetes, suggesting OPN may be useful as a potential biomarker for DR.