The following guidelines may be used to assess ongoing cartilage turnover and the risk of joint destruction in the future:

• < 12 U/L Lower risk of aggressive joint destruction

• 12-15 U/L Increasing risk of aggressive joint destruction

• > 15 U/L High risk of aggressive joint destruction

The COMP® ELISA is a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein (COMP) in human serum.

The presence of elevated levels, when considered in conjunction with other laboratory and clinical findings, is an aid in identifying aggressive destruction of joint tissue in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

It is well documented that when articular cartilage matrix is degraded by a disease process, protein fragments are produced and diffuse out into the joint fluid. Some of these proteins, such as COMP, subsequently appear in the bloodstream and can be used to monitor the progress of cartilage degradation in inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis1, 2 and osteoarthritis3.

A quantitative relation has been shown between the concentrations of COMP in serum and cartilage degradation using radiographic changes as a surrogate clinical endpoint.

Dénarié D et al., Could biomarkers of bone, cartilage or synovium turnover be used for relapse prediction in rheumatoid arthritis patients? Mediators Inflamm. 2014;2014:537324.

Turesson C et al., Increased cartilage turnover and circulating auto-antibodies in different subsets before the clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011;70:520-522.

Sowers MF et al., Longitudinal changes of serum COMP and urinary CTX-II predict X-ray defined knee osteoarthritis severity and stiffness in women.