Chitotriosidase and YKL-40 in normal and pre-eclamptic pregnancies

Objective: To compare macrophage activation in normal and pre-eclamptic pregnancies by determining YKL-40 concentration and chitotriosidase activity in maternal and cord serum. Methods: In this prospective case-control study samples of maternal peripheral blood and umbilical venous blood were collected from 28 pre-eclamptic and 24 normotensive pregnant women and their newborns. YKL-40 concentration and chitotriosidase activity were determined by enzyme-linked immunoassay and fluorometry, respectively. Results: Chitotriosidase activity in maternal and cord serum and YKL-40 concentration in cord serum were significantly higher in pre-eclamptic pregnancies (P 0.001), but there was no significant difference in maternal serum levels of YKL-40 between the case and control groups (P>0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between diastolic blood pressure and (1) chitotriosidase activity in both maternal and cord serum and (2) cord serum concentration of YKL-40 (r=0.61, r=0.84, and r=0.58, respectively). Conclusion: This study may be the first to demonstrate maternal and fetal macrophage activation in pre-eclampsia. (c) 2007 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Association of Polymorphisms in MCP-1, CCR2, and CCR5 Genes with the Risk and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Prostate Cancer

The aim of our study was to determine the effect of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), and CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) gene polymorphisms on the susceptibility and clinicopathological characteristics of prostate cancer. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method in 156 histopathologically confirmed prostate cancer patients and 152 healthy subjects. Individuals with AA genotype or at least one A allele of CCR2 V64I gene polymorphism had a higher risk for prostate cancer as compared with those with GG genotype (p = 0.010 and p = 0.028, respectively). CCR5 Delta 32/wt genotype and CCR5 Delta 32 allele were also found to be involved in the susceptibility to prostate cancer (p = 0.028 and p = 0.030, respectively). However, there was no significant association between MCP-1-2518 A/G gene polymorphism and prostate cancer risk. Prostate cancer patients carrying AA genotype or at least one A allele of CCR2 V64I had significantly increased risk for high stage disease (p = 0.002 and p = 0.039, respectively) and metastasis (p = 0.004 and p = 0.022, respectively). The CCR2 A allele (64I allele) was significantly associated with high T stage (p = 0.001) and metastasis (p = 0.005) as compared with CCR2 G allele (64V allele). Our data indicate that gene polymorphism of CCR2 V64I may influence the susceptibility and clinicopathological characteristics of prostate cancer and CCR5 Delta 32 allele may also be an important risk factor for prostate cancer in Turkish men population

Serum chitotriosidase activity in acute appendicitis: preliminary results

Chitotriosidase is one of the most quantitative proteins secreted by activated macrophages, so its activity has been proposed as a biochemical marker of macrophage accumulation. The clinical importance of the chitotriosidase is still largely unknown. Our aim was to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of serum chitotriosidase activity in acute appendicitis (AA)

Serum chitotriosidase activity in patients with coronary artery disease

Background Atherosclerosis is considered to be an inflammatory disease in which the initial process is augmented infiltration of monocytes into the vessel wall and their subsequent differentiation from macrophages into lipid-laden foam cells. Chitotriosidase is one of the most quantitative proteins secreted by activated macrophages, so the aim of this study was to investigate the association of the level of serum chitotriosidase activity with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD)

Serum YKL-40 levels in patients with coronary artery disease

Atherosclerosis is considered to be an inflammatory disease in which the initial process is the augmented infiltration of monocytes into the vessel wall and their subsequent differentiation from macrophages into lipid-laden foam cells. Human cartilage glycoprotein-39 (YKL-40) is a new inflammatory marker found to be secreted by lipid-laden macrophages inside human atherosclerotic vessel wall. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of serum YKL-40 levels with the presence and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) assessed by coronary angiography. We also studied the relation of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with the presence and angiographic severity of CAD. A total of 200 participants undergoing to coronary angiography was divided into four subgroups: control patients without CAD (n=53), and those with one-vessel disease (n=52), two-vessel disease (n=47), or three-vessel disease (n=48). Serum YKL-40 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Both serum YKL-40 levels and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations in patients with CAD were significantly higher than in control participants (P < 0.001). We also found a significant association between the levels of YKL-40 and the extent of CAD defined by the number of stenosed vessels (P < 0.001). The relationship between the serum YKL-40 level and atherosclerosis may represent a new opportunity for the possible utility of serum YKL-40 as an inflammatory marker for coronary artery disease. Moreover, our findings revealed that plasma YKL-40 measurement might also be regarded as a quantitative indicator of disease extent besides being a marker of disease presence

Association between SDF1-3 ' A or CXCR4 gene polymorphisms with predisposition to and clinicopathological characteristics of prostate cancer with or without metastases

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the association between SDF1-3'A and CXCR4 gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility and clinicopathological development of prostate cancer. SDF1-3'A and CXCR4 gene polymorphisms were assessed by polymerase chain reaction restriction-fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 149 healthy subjects and 152 patients with prostate cancer. There were no significant differences in the distributions of SDF-1 and CXCR4 genotypes between controls and prostate cancer patients. However, the patients with AA genotype of SDF1-3'A gene presented a higher risk for developing an advanced disease status as compared to patients with GG homozygotes (aOR = 2.02; 95 % CI = 1.05-3.90; P = 0.035). In addition, the distribution of AA genotype of SDF1-3'A gene was found significantly increased in the patients with bone metastasis in comparison to those without bone metastasis (aOR = 2.94; 95 % CI = 1.26-6.82; P = 0.012). On the other hand, CXCR4 gene polymorphism was not associated with the clinicopathological characteristics of prostate cancer. Our results suggest that SDF1-3'A and CXCR4 gene polymorphisms may not be risk factors for the susceptibility to prostate cancer. However, SDF1-3'A gene polymorphism may be associated with the progression and bone metastasis of prostate cancer in a Turkish men population

Serum visfatin levels in acute appendicitis

The clinical importance of the novel adipokine visfatin are still largely unknown. Our aim was to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of visfatin serum concentrations in Acute appendicitis(AA)

Low levels of soluble low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy

Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP-1) is a large transmembrane receptor. LRP-1 plays a role in diverse cellular processes, including lipid metabolism, cell growth, migration, and regeneration. Soluble form of LRP-1 (sLRP-1) can be detected in serum. sLRP-1 can serve as a biomarker of atherosclerosis and cardiometabolic diseases. This study investigated the concentrations of the circulating serum sLRP-1 in patients with retinopathy and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Serum YKL-40 levels and chitotriosidase activity as potential biomarkers in primary prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia

Background: YKL-40, also called human cartilage glycoprotein-39 (HC gp-39) and chitotriosidase are homologs of family 18 glycosyl hydrolases secreted by human macrophages. Although high levels of YKL-40 and chitotriosidase are associated with several diseases, the physiological functions of these enzymes are still unclear. YKL-40, a growth factor for connective tissue cells, a migration factor for endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells, is expressed by several types of solid human carcinoma, including prostate carcinoma