Disease biomarkers

Biomarker Disease Normal level Detection BRE, Sample Refs. 

I Qualified and Validated But I Research-Grade Markers [ "Translated biomarkers" Disease-specific, efficacy Pharmaccxlynamic and toxicology markers that work in human Often, hypothesis-free genomic profiling is done I for data collection Bl(X)d tests Protein, metabolite immunoassay DNA genetic test mRNA, protein, metabolite profile... 

Acid- and alkaline phosphatases act on a variety of mono- and multiple phosphate carrying low molecular mass molecules. In addition, they hydrolyze many, but not all, phosphoproteins. They are in use for decades to easily screen for diseases, however, somewhat unspe-cifially. For instance, acid phosphatase is used as biomarker for prostate cancer, and alkaline phosphatase to monitor bone (de-) mineralization and liver tumors. 

A biomarker of susceptibility is an indicator of an inherent or acquired limitation of an organism s ability to respond to the challenge of exposure to a specific xenobiotic substance. It can be an intrinsic genetic or other characteristic or a preexisting disease that results in an increase in absorbed dose, a decrease in the biologically effective dose, or a target tissue response. If biomarkers of susceptibility exist, they are discussed in Section 3.10 Populations That Are Unusually Susceptible. 

The concept of biomarkers is illustrated in Figure 4.4. As the dose of a chemical increases, the organism moves from a state of homeostasis to a state of stress. With further increases in dose, the organism enters first the state of reversible disease, and eventually the state of irreversible disease, which will lead to death. In concept, all of these stages can be monitored by biomarker assays (lower part of conceptual diagram). 

Effect. Biomarkers of effects are not available for trichloroethylene. There is no clinical disease state that is unique to trichloroethylene exposure. Interpretation of the behavioral observations in humans is complicated by many factors, such as possible irritant effects of the odor and nonspecific effects on the nervous system (e.g., fatigue). Further studies in this area would be useful in determining the exposure levels that may be... 

BRANCA F, HANLEY A B, POOL-ZOBEL B and VERHAGEN H (2001) Biomarkers in disease and health. Br J Nutr. 86 (Suppl) S55-S92. 

With investigations of phytochemicals and functional foods, the outcome measure is generally going to be a biomarker of disease, such as serum cholesterol level as a marker of heart disease risk, or indicators of bone turnover as markers of osteoporosis risk. Alternatively, markers of exposure may also indicate the benefit from a functional food by demonstrating bioavailability, such as increased serum levels of vitamins or carotenoids. Some components will be measurable in both ways. For instance, effects of a folic acid-fortified food could be measured via decrease in plasma homocysteine levels, or increase in red blood cell folate. 

Poor sleep architecture and fragmented sleep secondary to OSA can cause excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and neu-rocognitive deficits. These sequelae can affect quality of life and work performance and may be linked to occupational and motor vehicle accidents. OSA is also associated with systemic disease such as hypertension, heart failure, and stroke.21-23 OSA is likely an independent risk factor for the development of hypertension.24 Further, when hypertension is present, it is often resistant to antihypertensive therapy. Fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events are two- to threefold higher in male patients with severe OSA.25 OSA is associated with or aggravates biomarkers for cardiovascular disease, including C-reactive protein and leptin.26,27 Patients with sleep apnea often are obese and maybe predisposed to weight gain. Hence, obesity may further contribute to cardiovascular disease in this patient population. 

Growing clinical data also points to the importance of IL-8 in atherogenesis. IL-8 has been found in atheromatous lesions from patients with atherosclerotic disease including carotid artery stenosis (103), CAD (118), abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) (103,104,114), and peripheral vascular disease (PVD) (104). Furthermore, studies using plaque explant samples have yielded more direct evidence for IL-8 involvement. Media from cultured AAA tissue induced IL-8-dependent human aortic endothelial cell (HAEC) chemotaxis (122). Homocysteine, implicated as a possible biomarker for CAD, is also capable of inducing IL-8 (123-125) by direct stimulation of endothelial cells (123,124) and monocytes (125). When patients with hyperhomocysteinemia were treated with low-dose folic acid, decreases in homocysteine levels correlated with decreases in IL-8 levels (126). Statins significantly decrease serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1, as well as expression of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 mRNA by peripheral blood monocytes and HUVECs (127). Thus, IL-8 may be an underappreciated factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. 

Wright, G. L., Cazares, L. H., Leung, S.-M., Nasim, S., Adam, B.-L., Yip, T.-T., Schellhammer, P. F., Gong, L., and Vlahou, A. (2000). ProteinChip surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) mass spectrometry a novel protein biochip technology for detection of prostate cancer biomarkers in complex protein mixtures. Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases 2, 264-276. 

Detection by LDMS and structural elucidation of other secondary metabolite products, generated in the host during the onset of the parasite disease, is discussed. These molecules may serve as additional biomarkers for rapid malaria diagnosis by LDMS. For instance, choline phosphate (CP) is identified as the source of several low-mass ions observed in parasite-infected blood samples in addition to heme biomarker ions. The CP levels track the sample parasitemia levels. This biomarker can provide additional specificity and sensitivity when compared to malaria detection based on heme ion signals alone. Furthermore the observed elevated CP levels are discussed in the context of Plasmodium metabolism during its intra-erythrocytic life cycle. These data can... 

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