[Assessment of osteopontin and osteoprotegerin levels in abdominal aortic aneurysm patients].

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is multifactorial disease with unknown ethiology. Among the theories on the pathogenesis of AAA are some ge. netic factors, infections, disorders in connective tissue (collagenosis), arteriosclerosis, inflammation, incorrect immune response (autoimmunity).

[The role of osteopontin in cardiovascular diseases].

Osteopontin (OPN) is an acid phosphorylated glycoprotein secreted by cells of the immune system, epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, tumor cells and many more. Osteopontin is a multifunctional protein. Due to characteristic molecular structure containing integrin bining domains, OPN can interact with several integrin receptors, thus it play a role in activation, adhesion and migration of many cell types in such processes as inflammation, tissue mineralization and tumor genesis.