Osteopontin (OPN) is a molecule that is common in central nervous system (CNS) pathologies, which participates in the activation, migration, and survival of inflammatory cells. However, the mechanisms by which OPN modulates inflammatory pathways are not clear. To understand the role of OPN in CNS viral infections, we used a lethal mouse model of West Nile virus (WNV), characterized by the injec...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE Osteopontin (OPN) and IL-18 are known inflammatory mediators and both participate in a wide range of biological processes linked to immunological disorders. Since an interaction between OPN and IL-18 has not been studied in obesity, we investigated whether: (i) their levels were simultaneously elevated in obese individuals; (ii) OPN was associated with IL-18 in obese indivi...

Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted phosphoprotein which has been linked to tumor progression and metastasis in a variety of cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Previous studies have shown that OPN is upregulated during liver injury and inflammation. However, the role of OPN in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced liver disease pathogenesis is not known. In this study, we determined the in...

We have investigated the expression of osteopontin (OPN) and CDX2 in advanced gastric cancers, and analyzed correlations with clinicopathological features to assess their prognostic potential. One-hundred and nine patients suffering from gastric cancer were recruited. Expression of OPN and CDX2 and other molecular markers was determined by immunohistochemistry. The total positive rate for OPN e...

Osteopontin (OPN) plays an important role in the metastasis and recurrence of tumors after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, the down-regulation effect on OPN expression in HCC cells of RNA interference (RNAi) molecules designed to target different segments of OPN was investigated to identify a more effective site for OPN knockdown. Specific small interfering RNAs (siR...

It has been shown that Osteopontin (OPN) protein is overexpressed in the majority of gastric cancers and associated with its pathogenesis. To better understanding of the role of OPN, RNA interference (RNAi) was used to inhibit OPN expression in the human gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. BGC-823, gastric cancer cell line, was stably transfected with OPN small interfering RNA (siRNA) pl...

PURPOSE To investigate the effects of loss of osteopontin (OPN) in the healing of the injured cornea in mice. Cell culture study was also conducted to clarify the effects of OPN in fibroblast behaviors. METHODS Ocular fibroblasts from wild-type (WT) and OPN-null (KO) mice were used to study the role of OPN on cell behavior. The effect of the lack of OPN on corneal wound healing was evaluated ...

Osteopontin (OPN), a multifunctional protein, has emerged as a potentially valuable biomarker for diagnosing and treating cancers. Recent research focuses on its involvement in tumor biology including the cell proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms and pharmacological effects of OPN in cancer development could lead to new targets ...

Objectives. Osteopontin (OPN) is overexpressed in breast cancers, while its clinical and prognostic significance remained unclear. This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of OPN, especially its splice variants, in breast cancers. Methods. Data were extracted from eligible studies concerning the OPN and OPN-c expression in breast cancer patients and were used to calculate the association...

Glioblastoma (GBM) represents the most aggressive and common solid human brain tumor. We have recently demonstrated the importance of osteopontin (OPN) in the acquisition/maintenance of stemness characters and tumorigenicity of glioma initiating cells. Consultation of publicly available TCGA database indicated that high OPN expression correlated with poor survival in GBM patients. In this study...