No abstract available.
Biomarkers* ; Blood Platelets* ; Diabetes Mellitus*

No abstract available.
Biomarkers* ; Blood Platelets* ; Diabetes Mellitus*

Biomarkers ; blood ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; diagnosis

Biomarkers ; blood ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; diagnosis

OBJECTIVETo examine the expression level of miR-24 in the plasma of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients and investigate the clinical significance of miR-24 in NPC development.

METHODSBlood samples were from 217 NPC patients admitted in our Department between December, 2007 and June, 2011, with those from 73 patients with chronic purulent otitis media or chronic sinusitis as control. The follow-up data of all the patients were reviewed and the expression of miR-24 in the plasma was examined by qRT-PCR. The correlation of miR-24 expression with clinical staging of NPC was analyzed, and miR-24 levels before and after the treatment were compared.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the NPC patients showed significantly up-regulated level of miR-24 in the plasma (P<0.001). Plasma miR-24 level differed significantly among patients with different T stages (P=0.007) and was negatively correlated with the N stages (P=0.028) and plasma EBV-DNA (P=0.048). The expression levels of miR-24 were significantly reduced after treatment in the NPC patients and were significantly lowered in patients without relapse or metastasis (P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONPlasma miR-24 may serve as a novel molecular biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis of NPC.

Biomarkers ; blood ; Carcinoma ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; blood ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; blood ; Prognosis

BACKGROUNDMultiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant tumor, which takes the second place in malignant blood disease. The clinical symptoms are complicated that make more difficult to diagnose and therapy. Lots of researches focus on the proteins about MM in order to solve those problems. We used proteomic methods to find potential biomarkers in MM patients.

METHODSWe applied the peptide ligand library beads (PLLBs) to deplete high abundance proteins in serum for finding potential pathogenic factors and biomarkers of MM. Using 1D-Gel-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we identified 789 and 849 unique serum proteins in MM patients and in healthy controls, respectively.

RESULTSTwenty-two proteins were found differentially expressed between the two groups including serum amyloid A protein, vitamin D-binding protein isoform-1 precursor, plasma kallikrein, and apolipoprotein A-I. Changes of integrin alpha-11 and isoform-1 of multimerin-1 were validated with Western blotting. The linkage of the differentially expressed proteins and the pathogenesis pathways of MM were discussed.

CONCLUSIONSPLLB combined with 1D-gel-LC-MS/MS analysis is an efficient method to identify differentially expressed proteins in serum from patients with MM.

Biomarkers ; blood ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma ; blood ; Peptide Library ; Proteomics ; methods ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Biomarkers ; blood ; Dimethylformamide ; pharmacokinetics ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure

Inhibin B is a glycoprotein secreted by testis, consisting of two disulfide-linked subunits, an alpha-subunit and a beta B-subunit. Serum inhibin B levels are significantly negatively correlated with the serum FSH levels in males, exerting a negative feedback on FSH secretion. In males the circulating levels of inhibin B increase shortly after birth and peak at 4-12 months of age, then decrease to low levels from 3-9 year. From the onset of puberty, the levels of inhibin B gradually increase. By pubertal stage II, the adult levels of inhibin B have been reached. At stage III of puberty, a negative correlation between inhibin B and FSH levels is present and persists from stage III of puberty onward. At 20-30 year of age, the levels of inhibin B reach another peak, then gradually decline with increasing age. The men with hypospermatogenesis and spermatogenesis arrest have significantly lower levels of inhibin B than those with normal spermatogenesis. The men with Sertoli-cell-only syndrome (SCO) have extremely low levels of inhibin B. There is a closely correlation between the presence of SCO and the level of serum inhibin B. A significantly positive correlation is also observed between testis volume and inhibin B level, as well as between sperm count and inhibin B level. The inhibin B is a direct product of the seminiferous tubules, reflecting the total testicular tissue. The measurable inhibin B production in adult requires the presence of germ cells. Inhibin B is regarded as a serum marker of spermatogenesis. The determination of serum inhibin B in males can be used to assess the spermatogenesis of infertile men, to diagnose the cryptorchidism and precocious puberty, to predict the outcome of testicular sperm extraction in men with non-obstructive azoospermia, and to evaluate the damage to spermatogenesis in men after radiotherapy or chemiotherapy.
Biomarkers ; blood ; Humans ; Inhibins ; blood ; Male ; Spermatogenesis ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo observe the dynamic levels of serum Golgi protein 73(GP73) in patients prior to and after the onset of liver cancer, and to explore the related factors.

METHODSFrom 2007 to 2012, a periodical screening program was carried out in a group of high risk population with positive Hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg) , twice a year. Their serum specimens from every screening time point were kept in Qidong Biobank until liver cancer was diagnosed. Thirty-nine patients with liver cancer were recruited for the study, each of them at least had three times of specimens collected as well as B ultrasound scan (BUS) exam results at onset of disease and within 30 months before diagnosed, amongst 6 time points. In total, there were 162 specimens collected to test GP73 by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analyses of time series and differences among groups were performed by stata software 10.

RESULTSThe average value of 39 patient's GP73 at the time point of liver cancer onset was (126.77 ± 73.73) µg/L, while the values at the other five time points prior to the onset were (128.32 ± 81.18) , (129.97 ± 83.62) , (127.38 ± 80.10) , (135.52 ± 97.88) and (138.24 ± 93.58) µg/L, respectively, with no significant difference (F = 0.07, P = 0.997). No obvious changing trends of GP73 were observed among the 39 liver cancer cases at the 6 time points. All 162 samples were divided into two groups: without hepatic cirrhosis (63 samples) and with cirrhosis (99 samples) according to findings of B-ultrasonic wave; whose average GP73 values were separately (97.16 ± 51.39) and (151.20 ± 91.68) µg/L. The difference showed statistical significance (F = 18.22, P < 0.01). Furthermore, if we grouped the samples by the average value of GP73 at 130.19 µg/L, then there were only 1/14 of the subjects without hepatic cirrhosis having higher GP73 values, but 12 of the 25 subjects with hepatic cirrhosis having higher GP73 values. The difference showed statistical significance (P = 0.013). The results of Linear regression model also showed that there was no correlation between GP73 and time series (t = 0.75, P = 0.455), but significant correlation between GP73 and hepatic cirrhosis (t = 4.30, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONNo significant changes of the dynamic levels of GP73 could be found among the liver cancer patients within 30 months prior to the onset of disease. GP73 values of the patients with liver cancer may depend on their background of hepatic diseases; and hepatic cirrhosis might be one of the main influencing factors or confounding factors.

Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; blood ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; Membrane Proteins ; blood ; Retrospective Studies

Biomarkers ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukins ; blood ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; blood ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; blood