Abstract: Suo Guiying, Fu Ping*. *Department of Dermatology/Rheumatology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650101, China Corresponding author: Fu Ping, Email: cinafuping@hotmail.com 【Abstract】 Objective To investigate the role of serum osteopontin in the occurrence of pemphigus vulgaris （PV）. Methods Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to determine serum levels of osteopontin in 31 patients with PV and 35 healthy human controls. Statistical analysis was carried out by t test and Spearman rank correlation analysis with the SPSS 17.0 software and Excel. Results Serum levels of osteopontin were significantly higher in patients with PV than in healthy controls （P < 0.01）, in patients with mucocutaneous involvement than in those with only cutaneous involvement （P < 0.05）, and in patients with complicated infections than in those without （P < 0.01）. There was a positive correlation between serum levels of osteopontin and anti-Dsg3 antibody in patients with PV （rs = 0.489, P < 0.01）. Conclusions Serum levels of osteopontin are increased in patients with PV, especially in those with mucocutaneous involvement, and positively correlated with PV-related antibody titers.

Key words: Pemphigus, Osteopontin, Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay