Determination of serum visinin like protein-1 and its potential for the diagnosis of brain injury due to the stroke: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The current diagnosis of stroke relies on clinical examination by a physician supplemented by various neuroimaging techniques. A single set or multiple sets of blood biomarkers that could be used in acute settings to diagnosis stroke, differentiate between stroke types, and ideally predict an initial/recurring stroke would be extremely valuable. The diagnosis of stroke is currently hampered by delay due to lack of a suitable tool for rapid, accurate and analytically sensitive biomarker - based testing. There is a clear need for further assay development and clinical validation in this area (acute stroke setting) in order to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Visinin like protein 1 (VILIP-1) is a newly discovered CNS-abundant protein which has shown promise in experimental studies, for early stroke diagnosis. However, to date there is no clinical study that has measured VILIP-1 in sera as a marker of stroke. AIM: To develop an assay for the determination of VILIP-1 in human serum, and to investigate its clinical relevance as a marker of ischemic stroke. DESIGN AND METHODS: A new sandwich ELISA was developed, introduced and clinically tested. Mean spiking recovery was 98%. The mean recovery for dilution linearity was 93%. The limit of detection of the assay was 0.01 mcg/l; the intraassay and interassay coefficient of variation (CV) were always less than 10%. The study was approved by the Ethics Commission of the Hospital Sternberk, Czech Republic. A total of 17 healthy individuals (9 men and 8 women, age 64.0 ± 13.0) and 16 individuals with ischemic stroke (10 men and 6 women, age 63.0±11.5) were recruited for our study. The criteria of stroke were proposed by the National Czech Standard. All individuals had blood samples drawn, and VILIP-1 analysis and CT and/or MRI were performed. Results. VILIP-1 serum level significantly differentiated healthy subjects from patients with stroke (P<0.01). All individuals with stroke had VILIP-1 serum values higher than > 0.05 mcg/l, healthy had values below this value. The diagnostic efficacy of serum VILIP-1 was very significant (sensitivity 100%, specificity 100% at 0.093 mcg/l VILIP-1 serum values, AUC 1.0 (CI 0.93-1.0, P<0.01), Chi-squared in the frequency table was 33 (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: We have introduced a new analytical tool for the study of VILIP-1. Our results support the hypothesis that serum VILIP-1 may be associated with ischemic stroke. The ELISA VILIP-1 assay offers a new research tool for the diagnosis and pathophysiology of stroke and other CNS diseases.

Collagenous repeat-containing sequence of 26 kDa protein - a newly discovered adipokine - sensu lato - A minireview.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence from numerous research studies in internal medicine shows that adipocytes and adipokines are involved in primary inflammatory processes and disease. CORS-26 (collagenous repeat- containing sequence of 26 kDa protein) is a newly discovered adipokine of the C1q/TNF molecular superfamily C1q/TNF-related protein-3 (CTRP-3) secreted, inter alia in murine monocytes and adipocytes and in human adipocytes. Reported recently as a gene product of adipocyte differentiation, it shares structural similarity with the adipocyte, adiponectin. CORS-26 is much less known than other adipocytes such as leptin and resistin. Knowledge of its various functions has clinical and therapeutic implications especially in relation to obesity and the metabolic syndrome. AIMS: This review aims to provide current knowledge of this adipokine. METHODS: Review; sources were scientific biomedical databases Medline/PubMed, BioMedCentral, Google Scholar, Ovid, ProQuest from to 1998 to 2009. CONCLUSION: CORS-26 is an adipokine that regulates the secretion of other adipokines. Its effects on adipokine secretion are most probably independent of PPAR-γ. As CORS-26 up-regulates adiponectin secretion, it may be involved in metabolic and immunologic pathways. The effect of recombinant CORS-26 on insulin signaling in the presence of the metabolic syndrome needs to be investigated to further evaluate the physiological and pathophysiological role of this protein.