title: Osteoprotegerin: A novel biomarker for inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal carcinoma.
abstract: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily of proteins. Although initial data illustrated the key role that OPG plays in bone turnover, numerous recent reports indicate that OPG is also an important factor in inflammatory pathways and tumor cell survival. OPG contributes directly to inflammatory processes and has been evaluated as a novel non-invasive biomarker of gut inflammation. Furthermore, OPG affects cell turn-over, differentiation, death, and survival via extracellular pathways, correlating with worse prognosis in inflammatory bowel diseases and several gastrointestinal carcinomas. It is now clear that OPG has multiple functions and characteristics. This review gives an overview of OPG, highlights its roles in different extracellular pathways, and outlines how OPG could be used as a novel non-invasive biological marker in inflammatory bowel diseases and gastrointestinal carcinomas.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Paediatrics, University of Otago-Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand.|Department of Medicine, University of Otago-Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Floris Ae
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: De Voogd
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Otago-Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand.|Department of Gastroenterology, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Gearry
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.affiliation: Departments of Paediatrics, University of Otago-Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand.|Department of Paediatrics, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Day
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D053244:Osteoprotegerin / Q000378:metabolism*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D053244:Osteoprotegerin; C506030:TNFRSF11B protein, human
keywords: GI cancers, proliferation and apoptosis; IBD: clinical trials; IBD: cytokines