Neutrophilic airway inflammation is one of the features of severe asthma.Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL),or lipocalin-2,is a glycoprotein associated with neutrophilic inflammation and can be detected ...Neutrophilic airway inflammation is one of the features of severe asthma.Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL),or lipocalin-2,is a glycoprotein associated with neutrophilic inflammation and can be detected in blood.Recently,blood NGAL levels have been reported to be elevated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.However,the clinical significance of serum NGAL levels in patients with asthma has not been elucidated.The aim of this study was to explore the association between serum NGAL level and clinical parameters in patients with asthma.Sixty.one non-smoking people with stable asthma were enrolled in this study.All patients underwent blood ollction and pulmonary function tests.The associations between serum NGAL levels and clinical parameters were analyzed retrospectively.Serum NGAL levels in patients with asthma and obstructive ventilatory defect were higher than those in patients with asthma without obstructive ventilatory defect(76.4±51.4 ng/mL vs.39.3±27.4 ng/mL,P=0.0019).Serum NGAL levels were correlated with forced expired flow at 50%of vital capacity%predicted and forced expired flow at 75%of vital capacity%predicted(r=-0.3373,P=0.0078 and r=0.2900,P=0.0234,respectively).Results of a multiple regression analysis demonstrated that serum NGAL level was independently associated with obstructive ventilatory defect.Serum NGAL levels were elevated in patients with asthma and obstructive ventilatory defect.NGAL may be involved in airway remodeling possibly mediated by neutrophilic inflammation in asthma.展开更多
BACKGROUND Tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon,which originates from the epithelium of the glands,is a major health concern worldwide.However,it is difficult to detect at an early stage.The lack of biomarkers is a mai...BACKGROUND Tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon,which originates from the epithelium of the glands,is a major health concern worldwide.However,it is difficult to detect at an early stage.The lack of biomarkers is a main barrier to the diagnosis and treatment of tubular adenocarcinoma.Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL)is a secreted protein that induces the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9)and is involved in various tumors.NGAL and MMP-9 have been reported to be associated with tumorigenesis and development.They may have potential as biomarkers for diagnosis of tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon.AIM To determine whether NGAL and MMP-9 can be used as potential biomarkers to indicate the progression of tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon.METHODS Samples were collected from surgically excised tissue from various patients.The content of pro-gastrin-releasing peptide(pro-GRP)in the serum was measured by an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.The expression patterns of NGAL and MMP-9 and the relationship between NGAL and MMP-9 were examined by quantitative real-time PCR,Western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis.RESULTS In this study,we found that NGAL and MMP-9 can be used as biomarkers for the detection of tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon and that their combination improved diagnostic accuracy.By analyzing the expression of NGAL in tubular adenocarcinoma at different levels,we found that NGAL expression was significantly upregulated in primary tubular adenocarcinoma tissues compared with normal tissues.The upregulation of NGAL expression was strongly correlated with both the degree of differentiation and the disease stage(I–III),indicating that NGAL could serve as a diagnostic biomarker for tubular adenocarcinoma.When using NGAL as a biomarker for diagnosis,the accuracy was similar to that achieved with the widely used biomarker pro-GRP,suggesting that NGAL is reliable.Moreover,the expression of MMP-9 was also strongly correlated with the differentiation stage,demonstrating that MMP-9 could be used as a biomarker to indicate the progression of tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon.More importantly,the combination of NGAL and MMP-9 produced a more accurate diagnosis of tubular adenocarcinoma,and these results were further confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis of tissue sections.CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated that both NGAL and MMP-9 can be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis of colon tubular adenocarcinoma and that the results could be further improved by combining them.展开更多
<strong>Background:</strong> Diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia with currently available tests is rendered difficult in hemodialysis patients. <strong>The aim:</strong> To investigate the role...<strong>Background:</strong> Diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia with currently available tests is rendered difficult in hemodialysis patients. <strong>The aim:</strong> To investigate the role of reticulocyte Hemoglobin Content (CHr) in the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in hemodialysis children in comparison to the used traditional markers and assess the impressiveness and the utility of Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) as a novel biomarker of iron status in those patients. <strong>Methods:</strong> This study investigated CHr in addition to NGAL serum level in the same line with traditional markers for anemia, including: CBC, serum iron, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and transferrin saturation (TSAT%). <strong>Results:</strong> It is more significant that CHr content in hemodialysis children is lower than their controls as they are (27.06 ± 2.90) pg and (32.86 ± 3.59) pg, respectively, p = 0.01. There is no significant difference regarding NGAL between the study groups. Significant negative correlation between CHr with ferritin, urea, creatinine, and positively correlated with iron and RBCS. CHr showed a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 86.67% to detect iron-deficiency anemia with a cut-off value of 27 pg. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> CHr is superior to ferritin and TSAT % for the early diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in hemodialysis children;our results do not support NGAL as a marker of anemia in hemodialysis patients.展开更多
Background Acute kidney injury(AKI)is common in critically ill children with significant mortality and morbidity.Serum creatinine is an insensitive and late biomarker compared to newly proposed AKI biomarkers.Methods ...Background Acute kidney injury(AKI)is common in critically ill children with significant mortality and morbidity.Serum creatinine is an insensitive and late biomarker compared to newly proposed AKI biomarkers.Methods Prospective study in pediatric intensive care unit(PICU)over three months to compare between serum cystatin-C(s-Cys-C)and urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(uNGAL)as AKI biomarkers at multiple time points with pediatric risk,injury,failure,loss,end-stage renal disease(pRIFLE)classification in diagnosing AKI.Results Forty children were recruited.Of these 40 children,22 developed AKI according to pRIFLE criteria.There was no significant difference between AKI and non-AKI in age(P=0.29).Post cardiac surgery,renal insult was the main cause of AKI(27.3%).There was a twofold increased risk of incident AKI in those patients with high baseline uNGAL at PICU admission and almost a fourfold increased risk in patients with high baseline s-Cys-C at PICU admission.uNGAL levels were highly predictive of AKI during the follow-up period[area under the curve(AUC)=0.76,95%confidence interval(CI)0.61-0.92].The cutoff point with the highest correctly classified proportion was 223 ng/mL(≥12 centiles)which correctly predict 80.0%patients with AKI,with a corresponding sensitivity of 72.7%and a specificity of 89.9%.AUC for s-Cys-C was 0.86(95%CI 0.75-0.97),and the highest correctly classified proportion was 1009μg/L(≥13 centiles);75%of patients with AKI,with a corresponding sensitivity of 63.6%and a specificity of 88.9%.Conclusion uNGAL and s-Cys-C predicts AKI early in critically ill children.展开更多
Purpose::To investigate the clinical value of urine interleukin-18(IL-8),neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL)and kidney injury molecule-1(KIM-1)for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury(AKI)in patient...Purpose::To investigate the clinical value of urine interleukin-18(IL-8),neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL)and kidney injury molecule-1(KIM-1)for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury(AKI)in patients with ureteroscopic lithotripsy(URL)related urosepsis.Methods::A retrospective study was carried out in 157 patients with urosepsis after URL.The patients were divided into AKI group and non-AKI group according to the Kidigo guideline and urine IL-8,NGAL and KIM-1 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at 0,4,12,24 and 48 h after the surgery.Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of these three biomarkers for postoperative AKI.Results::The level of urine IL-8,NGAL and KIM-1 in AKI group was significantly higher than that in non-AKI group at 4,12,24 and 48 h(p<0.01).The ROC analysis showed the combined detection of urine IL-8,NGAL and KIM-1 at 12 h had a larger area under curve(AUC)than a single marker(0.997,95%CI:0.991-0.998),and the sensitivity and specificity were 98.2%and 96.7%,respectively.Pearson correlation analysis showed that the levels of urine NGAL at 4,12,24 and 48 h in AKI patients were positively correlated with the levels of urine KIM-1 and IL-18(p<0.01).Conclusion::AKI could be quickly recognized by the elevated level of urine IL-8,NGAL and KIM-1 in patients with URL-related urosepsis.Combined detection of the three urine biomarkers at 12 h after surgery had a better diagnostic performance,which may be an important reference for the early diagnosis of AKI.展开更多
Cation-π interaction is an electrostatic interaction between a cation and an electron-rich arene.It plays an essential role in many biological systems as a vital driving force for protein folding,stability,and recept...Cation-π interaction is an electrostatic interaction between a cation and an electron-rich arene.It plays an essential role in many biological systems as a vital driving force for protein folding,stability,and receptor-ligand interaction/recognition.To date,the discovery of most cation-π interactions in proteins relies on the statistical analyses of available three-dimensional(3D)protein structures and corresponding computational calculations.However,their experimental verification and quantification remain sparse at the molecular level,mainly due to the limited methods to dynamically measure such a weak non-covalent interaction in proteins.Here,we use atomic force microscopy-based single-molecule force spectroscopy(AFM-SMFS)to measure the stability of protein neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(also known as NGAL,siderocalin,lipocalin 2)that can bind iron through the cation-π interactions between its three cationic residues and the iron-binding tri-catechols.Based on a site-specific cysteine engineering and anchoring method,we first characterized the stability and unfolding pathways of apo-NGAL.Then,the same NGAL but bound with the iron-catechol complexes through the cation-π interactions as a holo-form was characterized.AFM measurements demonstrated stronger stabilities and kinetics of the holo-NGAL from two pulling sites,F122 and F133.Here,NGAL is stretched from the designed cysteine close to the cationic residues for a maximum unfolding effect.Thus,our work demonstrates high-precision detection of the weak cation-π interaction in NGAL.展开更多
文摘Neutrophilic airway inflammation is one of the features of severe asthma.Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL),or lipocalin-2,is a glycoprotein associated with neutrophilic inflammation and can be detected in blood.Recently,blood NGAL levels have been reported to be elevated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.However,the clinical significance of serum NGAL levels in patients with asthma has not been elucidated.The aim of this study was to explore the association between serum NGAL level and clinical parameters in patients with asthma.Sixty.one non-smoking people with stable asthma were enrolled in this study.All patients underwent blood ollction and pulmonary function tests.The associations between serum NGAL levels and clinical parameters were analyzed retrospectively.Serum NGAL levels in patients with asthma and obstructive ventilatory defect were higher than those in patients with asthma without obstructive ventilatory defect(76.4±51.4 ng/mL vs.39.3±27.4 ng/mL,P=0.0019).Serum NGAL levels were correlated with forced expired flow at 50%of vital capacity%predicted and forced expired flow at 75%of vital capacity%predicted(r=-0.3373,P=0.0078 and r=0.2900,P=0.0234,respectively).Results of a multiple regression analysis demonstrated that serum NGAL level was independently associated with obstructive ventilatory defect.Serum NGAL levels were elevated in patients with asthma and obstructive ventilatory defect.NGAL may be involved in airway remodeling possibly mediated by neutrophilic inflammation in asthma.
基金Shandong Key Research and Development Plan,No.2016GSF201020.
文摘BACKGROUND Tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon,which originates from the epithelium of the glands,is a major health concern worldwide.However,it is difficult to detect at an early stage.The lack of biomarkers is a main barrier to the diagnosis and treatment of tubular adenocarcinoma.Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL)is a secreted protein that induces the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9)and is involved in various tumors.NGAL and MMP-9 have been reported to be associated with tumorigenesis and development.They may have potential as biomarkers for diagnosis of tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon.AIM To determine whether NGAL and MMP-9 can be used as potential biomarkers to indicate the progression of tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon.METHODS Samples were collected from surgically excised tissue from various patients.The content of pro-gastrin-releasing peptide(pro-GRP)in the serum was measured by an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.The expression patterns of NGAL and MMP-9 and the relationship between NGAL and MMP-9 were examined by quantitative real-time PCR,Western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis.RESULTS In this study,we found that NGAL and MMP-9 can be used as biomarkers for the detection of tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon and that their combination improved diagnostic accuracy.By analyzing the expression of NGAL in tubular adenocarcinoma at different levels,we found that NGAL expression was significantly upregulated in primary tubular adenocarcinoma tissues compared with normal tissues.The upregulation of NGAL expression was strongly correlated with both the degree of differentiation and the disease stage(I–III),indicating that NGAL could serve as a diagnostic biomarker for tubular adenocarcinoma.When using NGAL as a biomarker for diagnosis,the accuracy was similar to that achieved with the widely used biomarker pro-GRP,suggesting that NGAL is reliable.Moreover,the expression of MMP-9 was also strongly correlated with the differentiation stage,demonstrating that MMP-9 could be used as a biomarker to indicate the progression of tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon.More importantly,the combination of NGAL and MMP-9 produced a more accurate diagnosis of tubular adenocarcinoma,and these results were further confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis of tissue sections.CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated that both NGAL and MMP-9 can be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis of colon tubular adenocarcinoma and that the results could be further improved by combining them.
文摘<strong>Background:</strong> Diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia with currently available tests is rendered difficult in hemodialysis patients. <strong>The aim:</strong> To investigate the role of reticulocyte Hemoglobin Content (CHr) in the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in hemodialysis children in comparison to the used traditional markers and assess the impressiveness and the utility of Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) as a novel biomarker of iron status in those patients. <strong>Methods:</strong> This study investigated CHr in addition to NGAL serum level in the same line with traditional markers for anemia, including: CBC, serum iron, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and transferrin saturation (TSAT%). <strong>Results:</strong> It is more significant that CHr content in hemodialysis children is lower than their controls as they are (27.06 ± 2.90) pg and (32.86 ± 3.59) pg, respectively, p = 0.01. There is no significant difference regarding NGAL between the study groups. Significant negative correlation between CHr with ferritin, urea, creatinine, and positively correlated with iron and RBCS. CHr showed a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 86.67% to detect iron-deficiency anemia with a cut-off value of 27 pg. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> CHr is superior to ferritin and TSAT % for the early diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in hemodialysis children;our results do not support NGAL as a marker of anemia in hemodialysis patients.
基金funded by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology(KACST)under grand number 27-35-T-A(27-35-■■)。
文摘Background Acute kidney injury(AKI)is common in critically ill children with significant mortality and morbidity.Serum creatinine is an insensitive and late biomarker compared to newly proposed AKI biomarkers.Methods Prospective study in pediatric intensive care unit(PICU)over three months to compare between serum cystatin-C(s-Cys-C)and urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(uNGAL)as AKI biomarkers at multiple time points with pediatric risk,injury,failure,loss,end-stage renal disease(pRIFLE)classification in diagnosing AKI.Results Forty children were recruited.Of these 40 children,22 developed AKI according to pRIFLE criteria.There was no significant difference between AKI and non-AKI in age(P=0.29).Post cardiac surgery,renal insult was the main cause of AKI(27.3%).There was a twofold increased risk of incident AKI in those patients with high baseline uNGAL at PICU admission and almost a fourfold increased risk in patients with high baseline s-Cys-C at PICU admission.uNGAL levels were highly predictive of AKI during the follow-up period[area under the curve(AUC)=0.76,95%confidence interval(CI)0.61-0.92].The cutoff point with the highest correctly classified proportion was 223 ng/mL(≥12 centiles)which correctly predict 80.0%patients with AKI,with a corresponding sensitivity of 72.7%and a specificity of 89.9%.AUC for s-Cys-C was 0.86(95%CI 0.75-0.97),and the highest correctly classified proportion was 1009μg/L(≥13 centiles);75%of patients with AKI,with a corresponding sensitivity of 63.6%and a specificity of 88.9%.Conclusion uNGAL and s-Cys-C predicts AKI early in critically ill children.
基金This article was sponsored by Medical Research Foundation of Chongqing,China(2019MSXM034).
文摘Purpose::To investigate the clinical value of urine interleukin-18(IL-8),neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL)and kidney injury molecule-1(KIM-1)for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury(AKI)in patients with ureteroscopic lithotripsy(URL)related urosepsis.Methods::A retrospective study was carried out in 157 patients with urosepsis after URL.The patients were divided into AKI group and non-AKI group according to the Kidigo guideline and urine IL-8,NGAL and KIM-1 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at 0,4,12,24 and 48 h after the surgery.Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of these three biomarkers for postoperative AKI.Results::The level of urine IL-8,NGAL and KIM-1 in AKI group was significantly higher than that in non-AKI group at 4,12,24 and 48 h(p<0.01).The ROC analysis showed the combined detection of urine IL-8,NGAL and KIM-1 at 12 h had a larger area under curve(AUC)than a single marker(0.997,95%CI:0.991-0.998),and the sensitivity and specificity were 98.2%and 96.7%,respectively.Pearson correlation analysis showed that the levels of urine NGAL at 4,12,24 and 48 h in AKI patients were positively correlated with the levels of urine KIM-1 and IL-18(p<0.01).Conclusion::AKI could be quickly recognized by the elevated level of urine IL-8,NGAL and KIM-1 in patients with URL-related urosepsis.Combined detection of the three urine biomarkers at 12 h after surgery had a better diagnostic performance,which may be an important reference for the early diagnosis of AKI.
基金This work was funded by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.14380259)Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(No.BK20200058)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21771103 and 21977047)computational resources from computing facilities of the High-Performance Computing Center(HPCC)of Nanjing University。
文摘Cation-π interaction is an electrostatic interaction between a cation and an electron-rich arene.It plays an essential role in many biological systems as a vital driving force for protein folding,stability,and receptor-ligand interaction/recognition.To date,the discovery of most cation-π interactions in proteins relies on the statistical analyses of available three-dimensional(3D)protein structures and corresponding computational calculations.However,their experimental verification and quantification remain sparse at the molecular level,mainly due to the limited methods to dynamically measure such a weak non-covalent interaction in proteins.Here,we use atomic force microscopy-based single-molecule force spectroscopy(AFM-SMFS)to measure the stability of protein neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(also known as NGAL,siderocalin,lipocalin 2)that can bind iron through the cation-π interactions between its three cationic residues and the iron-binding tri-catechols.Based on a site-specific cysteine engineering and anchoring method,we first characterized the stability and unfolding pathways of apo-NGAL.Then,the same NGAL but bound with the iron-catechol complexes through the cation-π interactions as a holo-form was characterized.AFM measurements demonstrated stronger stabilities and kinetics of the holo-NGAL from two pulling sites,F122 and F133.Here,NGAL is stretched from the designed cysteine close to the cationic residues for a maximum unfolding effect.Thus,our work demonstrates high-precision detection of the weak cation-π interaction in NGAL.
