OPN gene polymorphism (Ala250) and lower serum OPN levels are associated with urolithiasis.

Osteopontin (OPN) is one of the urinary proteins with an important role in stone formation. Recently, OPN Ala250 (rs1126616) polymorphism and other single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been studied to define their role in urolithiasis. This study was conducted to examine the impact of OPN Ala250 polymorphism on the risk of stone formation and their association with serum OPN levels. OPN Ala250 polymorphism was investigated in 127 urolithiasis patients and 92 healthy controls. Stones were analyzed for their chemical composition by using X-Ray diffraction method. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood leucocytes. The study groups were genotyped by PCR-RFLP and serum OPN levels were measured by ELISA. There was a significant difference between urolithiasis patients and controls concerning genotype and allele frequencies of OPN Ala250 (p < 0.05). Separate analysis by BMI greater or less than 25 kg/m(2) showed that the presence of one mutant T-allele was more frequent in patients with higher BMI than patients with BMI less than 25 kg/m(2) (p < 0.05). Serum OPN concentrations were two-fold higher in the control group compared to urolithiasis patients (p < 0.05). But the mean serum levels did not show any significant difference between OPN Ala250 genotypes in both groups. Moreover, we found an association between higher BMI and stone formation. Our findings suggest that OPN Ala250 polymorphism is associated with the correlation between weight gain and urolithiasis. However, the correlation between urolithiasis and obesity needs to be further studied in larger cohorts.

Growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 axis as related to body mass index in patients with idiopathic short stature.

OBJECTIVE: Idiopathic short stature (ISS) is a heterogeneous disorder. An impairment of growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)/IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1 R) axis is postulated. To evaluate the somatotropic axis in relation to body mass index (BMI), serum IGF-1, IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and the expression of IGF-1 R genes in patients with ISS. METHODS: Fifty-five ISS patients (24 F/31 M) aged 14.6 ± 5.5 years (range 3.5-28.5 years) and 25 BMI- and pubertal stage-matched peers were enrolled in the study. The ISS patients underwent a four-day standard GH stimulation test to evaluate IGF-1 generation. mRNA expression of the IGF-1 R gene in peripheral blood leukocytes was evaluated. ISS patients and controls were compared with respect to anthropometric and laboratory data. The results were also analyzed after subdividing the two groups into low-normal [BMI standard deviation score (SDS) between -2 to -1)] and normal (BMI SDS between -1 to +1) BMI subgroups. RESULTS: Basal serum IGF-1 concentrations were lower in ISS subjects compared to controls who had similar BMI SDS values (p=0.000). Subgroup analyses revealed that there were no significant differences between low-normal BMI ISS subjects and low-normal BMI controls with respect to serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations. However, in the normal BMI ISS subgroup, basal and stimulated IGF-1 levels were significantly lower than the basal values in their control counterparts (basal: p=0.000; stimulated: p=0.007). mRNA expression of IGF-1 R gene was not found to be significantly different in ISS subjects and controls. CONCLUSIONS: ISS patients were found to have lower IGF-1 concentrations than BMI-matched peers, a finding supporting presence of an impairment in the somatotropic axis. IGF-1 R expression does not seem to be impaired in ISS patients. ISS patients with low-normal BMI SDS also tend to display a relative IGF-1 resistance, whereas those with normal BMI SDS tend to be less GH-sensitive than healthy peers.