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

Apolipoprotein A-I ; blood ; Apolipoprotein B-100 ; blood ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Coronary Artery Disease ; blood ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo study the association between serum cystatin C level and blood pressure.

METHODSWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 912 subjects randomly sampled from a cohort visiting for routine physical examinations. The epidemiological data were obtained using questionnaires and from the database of physical examination results. Pearson analysis and multiple stepwise regression analysis were used to analyze the relationship between blood pressure and cystatin C.

RESULTSThe levels of serum cystatin C differed significantly among the normotensive, prehypertensive, and hypertensive subjects (P<0.05). Pearson analysis revealed that regardless of gender, serum cystatin C was positively correlated with SBP, DBP, MAP, BMI, TC, TG, LDL-C, UA and BUN (P<0.05). With MAP, SBP and DBP as dependent variables, multiple stepwise regression analysis of the factors affecting blood pressure indicated that cystatin C had the strongest effect on SBP and MAP (P<0.05) but did not significantly affect DBP (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSerum cystatin C level is significantly correlated with SBP and MAP and can be used as a biomarker for alert of hypertension.

Biomarkers ; blood ; Blood Pressure ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Cystatin C ; blood ; Humans ; Hypertension ; blood