TY - JOUR T1 - High Serum Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein Determines the Subset of Patients with Early-Stage Rheumatoid Arthritis with High Serum C-Reactive Protein, Matrix Metalloproteinase-3, and MRI-Proven Bone Erosion JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol DO - 10.3899/jrheum.080926 SP - jrheum.080926 AU - Keita Fujikawa AU - Atsushi Kawakami AU - Mami Tamai AU - Masataka Uetani AU - Shoichiro Takao AU - Kazuhiko Arima AU - Naoki Iwamoto AU - Toshiyuki Aramaki AU - Shinya Kawashiri AU - Kunihiro Ichinose AU - Makoto Kamachi AU - Hideki Nakamura AU - Tomoki Origuchi AU - Hiroaki Ida AU - Kiyoshi Aoyagi AU - Katsumi Eguchi Y1 - 2009/05/15 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2009/05/13/jrheum.080926.abstract N2 - Objective To identify the significance of serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), a marker of cartilage turnover, in patients with early-stage rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in relation to other serologic variables and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features. Methods Ninety-eight patients with early-stage RA, whose disease duration from onset was less than 2 years, were enrolled. The objective measures at baseline were Disease Activity Score (DAS28), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), serum matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), serum antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), and MRI features of both wrist and finger joints. The MRI features included the number of sites scored positive for synovitis, bone edema, and bone erosion. Results Serum COMP concentration was not different among groups identified with low, moderate, and high DAS28-CRP values. However, COMP values were statistically high in subjects positive for bone erosions on MRI compared with the subjects who were negative for bone erosions. A positive correlation of COMP with CRP and with MMP-3 values was also identified. Conclusion Elevation of COMP may reflect joint damage that is dependent on the synovial inflammatory process in early-stage RA. ER -