Objective To investigate the expression patterns of β-catenin, Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) and Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in serum of patients with osteoporosis (OP) and osteoarthritis (OA), as well as their correlation with clinical parameters. Methods According to the symptoms of the subjects, they were divided into healthy, OP, OA, and OP + OA groups. The expressions of β-catenin, DKK-1 and MMP-9 in the serum of all subjects were detected by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay). Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between the expression levels of these three factors and the clinical parameters including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and bone mineral density (BMD). Results There were no significant differences in age and body mass index between any two of the healthy, OP, OA, and OP + OA groups. Patients in the groups of OP, OA, and OP + OA were similar in sex ratio (1:2). Compared with the healthy group, the level of serum β-catenin in OP + OA group was significantly increased (P = 0.024) while the expression levels of DKK-1 (P = 0.013) and MMP-9 (P = 0.003) were significantly decreased, which was similar to those in OP group. In addition, the content of β-catenin in OP + OA group was significantly higher than that in OP group (P = 0.047) but significantly lower than that in OA group (P = 0.018); however, the levels of DKK-1 and MMP-9 were significantly higher than those in the OP group (P = 0.041/0.007) and OA group (P = 0.006/0.002). Pearson correlation analysis showed that serum β-catenin and DKK-1 were correlated with ESR/CRP (r = 0.713/0.621 and r = 0.462/0.321). Lumbar spine BMD/femoral neck BMD was positively associated with β-catenin (r = 0.425/0.545), but negatively correlated with DKK-1 (r = -0.376/-0.315). There was a weak negative correlation between MMP-9 and lumbar spine BMD and femoral neck BMD (r = -0.525/-0.324). Conclusion The expression of serum β-catenin, DKK-1 and MMP-9 in OA + OP group is not a simple mixture of those products from the OP and OA groups. The correlation between β-catenin / DKK-1 / MMP-9 and OP / OA clinical parameters indicated that the expression changes of these factors could be used as a diagnostic reference for the degree of inflammation and bone quality in clinical setting. |