Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 20, a potential biomarker for Graves' disease, is regulated by osteopontin

These results demonstrated that CCL20 might serve as a biomarker for GD and suggested the possible role of OPN in induction of CCL20 expression.

Fifty untreated GD patients, fifteen euthyroid GD patients, twelve TRAb-negative GD patients and thirty-five healthy control donors were recruited. OPN, CCL20 and other clinical GD diagnosis parameters were measured. CD4+T cells were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using antibody-coated magnetic beads. Enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to determine CCL20 expression level.

This study sought to explore the possibility of CCL20 level as a biomarker for GD, as well as investigate the role of OPN in regulating CCL20 production.

We found that the plasma CCL20 level was enhanced in GD patients and decreased in euthyroid and TRAb-negative GD patients. In addition, CCL20 level correlated with GD clinical diagnostic parameters and plasma OPN level. Moreover, we demonstrated that recombinant OPN and plasma from untreated GD patients increased the expression of CCL20 in CD4+T cells, which could be blocked by OPN antibody. Furthermore, we found that the effect of OPN on CCL20 expression was mediated by β3 integrin receptor, IL-17, NF-κB and MAPK pathways. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that CCL20 might serve as a biomarker for GD and suggested the possible role of OPN in induction of CCL20 expression.