尿液蛋白质组作为下一代生物标志物的潜力

生物标志物是与机体生理及病理生理状态相关的可监测到变化的生化指标,尿液不属于内环境,没有稳态机制,能够积累并反映机体生理状态的早期变化,有潜力辅助疾病的早期诊断和预后监测。得益于非侵入性的收集方式,尿液可以被连续、大量、重复收集并便捷、稳定地保存,且组分相对简单,易于分析,是理想的标志物研究样本。但临床尿液样本蛋白质组可能会受到生活习惯、用药情况等多种混杂因素的影响,而动物模型方便控制变量,可以最大程度减少混杂因素的干扰,并使得在疾病发生、发展极早期采集样本成为可能;此外,患者的疾病分期、分型、用药情况等信息不能被忽视,现有样本策略和分析方式有待优化,例如,对同一个人不同时期、不同状态(例如患病前后)的尿液样本进行前后对照是一种理想的分析方式,这种方式能够消除个体间差异性的影响,符合个性化、精准化医疗的趋势;在无自身对照样本的情况下,一对多的分析方法能够更好地体现个体与健康群体的差别,辅助未知疾病的诊断和鉴别。尿液大分子的膜保存方式使得临床样本的保存更加简单经济。尿液生物标志物领域研究的进步需要政策和伦理的支持、资金和人力长期持续的投入以及大样本、大数据的辅助。本文综述了尿液生物标志物...     

尿液有可能成为生物标志物的金矿吗?

生物标志物的研究没有像很多人预想的那样很快地取得很多成果.人们主要关注的还是血液中的标志物,毕竟血液和所有的器官都联系的那么直接和紧密.有可能寻找标志物的地方不合适吗?有可能有更好的生物标志物金矿吗?稳定的内环境是高等生物的生存优势.血液更倾向稳定,而尿液是血液经过肾脏而生成,尿液完全没有稳定的必要性和机制.一个被引入到血液的变化,会被肝肾等器官利用各种机制把血中的这个变化缩小,所以尿液有可能比血液更能体现这个引入的变化.当然这也决定了影响尿液的因素会很多.除了所研究的疾病的标志物,还有很多可能的干扰因素.影响     

铅中毒的暴露生物标志物

铅是严重威胁人类健康的一种环境污染物,尤其对儿童神经系统的发育以及学习记忆等产生不良的影响。因此,铅毒性的早期预防、早期诊断以及早期治疗尤为重要。生物标志物是公共卫生领域尤其是环境医学领域的一个研究热点,选择合适的生物标志物对于开展铅毒性的生物监测,实现铅生物效应的早期预警、早期干预等都具有重要的作用。本文就现有的主要铅暴露生物标志物的现状作一归纳。     

miRNA作为三阴乳腺癌潜在生物标志物的研究进展

三阴乳腺癌(triple-negative breast cancer,TNBC)是指雌激素受体(estrogen receptor,ER)、孕激素受体(progesterone receptor,PR)及人表皮生长因子受体-2(human epidermal growth factor receptor-2,HER-...     

铅中毒的暴露生物标志物

铅是严重威胁人类健康的一种环境污染物,尤其对儿童神经系统的发育以及学习记忆等产生不良的影响.因此,铅毒性的早期预防、早期诊断以及早期治疗尤为重要.生物标志物是公共卫生领域尤其是环境医学领域的一个研究热点,选择合适的生物标志物对于开展铅毒性的生物监测,实现铅生物效应的早期预警、早期干预等都具有重要的作用.本文就现有的主要铅暴露生物标志物的现状作一归纳.     

基因启动子异常甲基化及其作为肿瘤生物标志物的研究进展

基因启动子异常甲基化与肿瘤的发生关系密切,它可导致抑癌基因或其它肿瘤相关基因的表达失活。研究显示基因启动子异常甲基化是肿瘤形成过程中的一个早期、频发事件,广泛存在于几乎所有种类的人类肿瘤中,因此,基因启动子区异常甲基化是一个高灵敏度的肿瘤生物标志物,检测外周血血清或肿瘤累及器官体液中肿瘤相关基因的甲基化状态将为肿瘤的早期诊断、疗效观察及预后判断提供非常有价值的信息。     

尿液诊断膀胱癌的研究进展

摘要：膀胱癌是临床常见的发生在泌尿系统的恶性肿瘤,该病的发病率呈现逐年升高的趋势,其复发率也相对较高。早期诊断和定期随访是保证膀胱癌患者长期生存的关键。对于膀胱癌的诊断以及患者的随访通常凭借膀胱镜检查或尿脱落细胞学的测定。然而,前者的检查费用较为昂贵,且属于有创诊断;后者则具有检查敏感性相对较低的特点,还存在较大程度受病理科诊断医生主观因素影响的局限,目前还没有尿液生物标志物可以替代传统的诊断方法。膀胱肿瘤具有广泛的异质性,不同的疾病表型具有不同的分子差异。因此,引入尿液生物标志物来诊断疾病,评估疾病的侵袭性、进展的风险、复发的可能性和预后具有重要的临床价值。本文总结了目前尿液所含生物标志物诊断膀胱癌的研究现状,并对此领域的主要研究进展进行综述。     

癌症的生物标志物

虽然新的生物标志物诊断技术已经表现出可观的前景，但是它们的诊断结果仍然困扰着医生和研究人员。     

生物标志物在前列腺炎中的研究进展

前列腺炎是男性泌尿系统的常见疾病,由于前列腺炎存在病因和发病机制复杂,导致临床症状表现多种、药物治疗缺乏特异性和复发率较高等问题,因此前列腺炎的诊断、治疗和预后判断标准一直是临床关注的焦点。目前还没有诊断前列腺炎的"金标准",而生物标志物的检测有助于临床诊断、治疗和预后诊断,本文检索近年相关,对敏感性较高和特异性较好的一些前列腺炎生物标志物(细胞因子和趋化因子等)及今后研究的侧重点进行综述,从而为前列腺炎的诊断、分型治疗和预后观察提供依据。     

Urinary Peptidomic Analysis Identifies Potential Biomarkers for Acute Rejection of Renal Transplantation

Introduction  Human urine is a complex matrix of proteins, endogenous peptides, lipids, and metabolites. The level of any or all of these components can reflect the pathophysiological status of an individual especially of the kidney at the time of urine collection. The naturally occurring endogenous urinary peptides which are thought to be the product of several proteolytic and degradation processes may provide clinically useful biomarkers for different renal and systemic diseases. Materials and Methods  To examine if specific differences in the urinary peptidome (<10 kDa) occur at the time of acute renal transplant rejection (AR), we undertook a study of urine samples collected from biopsy-proven AR (n = 10), stable graft function (n = 10), and healthy normal control (n = 10). The peptides (<10 kDa) were extracted and fractionated with high-performance liquid chromatography followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometric (MS) analysis. Results  We identified 54 endogenous peptides, including multiple peptides for Tamm–Horsfall protein (UMOD). A panel of peptides are identified which discriminate renal transplant patients with AR from stable graft. We have shown that liquid chromatography followed by MALDI is a useful tool to identify potential biomarkers, which after verification with larger patient cohort can be used as a non-invasive monitoring tool for renal transplant rejection.     

Urine as a material for evaluation of exposure to manganese in methcathinone users

Chronic exposure even to low doses of manganese may lead to development of neurological syndrome similar to parkinsonism. The aim of this research is to assess the possibility of manganese poisoning based on the level of metal in the urine of long-term methcathinone users from Poland. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS) was used to determine manganese in urine, while the detection of the psychoactive drugs was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results of survey on longitudinal patterns of drug use showed that users of traditional illicit drugs now turn to cheaper alternatives, such as methcathinone. Parkinsonian features were observed in almost half of methcathinone users. The subjects had a higher mean level of Mn in their urine (8.68 ± 9.27 μg L⁻¹) than the controls (4.27 ± 1.91 μg L⁻¹). The presence of numerous psychoactive substances (in unchanged forms and their metabolites) was confirmed in all of the samples, with only one exception. The elevated level of manganese in urine (in 29.2% of patients) can be used as a primary marker of recent methcathinone administration, especially in the case of long time intravenous drug users where blood sampling is complicated.     

Tumor‐Derived Extracellular Vesicles as a Novel Source of Protein Biomarkers for Cancer Diagnosis and Monitoring

“Liquid biopsies” have received attention as a complementary tool for traditional tissue biopsies that may enhance the spectrum of analysis for tumor‐derived factors. One such factor gaining prominence in the liquid biopsy field is extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane‐bound nanovesicles which are secreted by cells into biofluids such as blood, urine, and saliva. EVs are released in both physiological and pathological conditions and can transport a variety of molecules, including proteins, metabolites, RNA, microRNAs, and DNA, to distant sites throughout the body. As such, they are emerging as a promising source of tumor biomarkers for the noninvasive diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer patients. In particular, the wealth of tumor‐related information that can be gleaned from the EV proteomic cargo has become apparent through mass spectrometric analysis, which has provided new benchmarks for clinically focused biomarker research. In this review, the current achievements in the use of MS for identifying potential EV‐derived protein biomarkers of cancer are explored, and the techniques and challenges involved in this pursuit are summarized.     

Urine and Serum MicroRNA-1 as Novel Biomarkers for Myocardial Injury in Open-Heart Surgeries with Cardiopulmonary Bypass

MicroRNA-1 (miR-1) is a cardio-specific/enriched microRNA. Our recent studies have revealed that serum and urine miR-1 could be a novel sensitive biomarker for acute myocardial infarction. Open-heart surgeries with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are often accompanied with surgery injury and CPB-associated injury on the hearts. However, the association of miR-1 and these intra-operative and post-operative cardiac injures is unknown. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that urine and serum miR-1 might be a novel biomarker for myocardial injuries in open-heart surgeries with CPB. Serum and urine miR-1 levels in 20 patients with elective mitral valve surgery were measured at pre-surgery, pre-CPB, 60 min post-CBP, and 24h post-CBP. Serum cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) was used as a positive control biomarker for cardiac injury. Compared with these in pre-operative and pre-CPB groups, the levels of miR-1 in serum and urine from patients after open-heart surgeries and CPB were significant increased at all observed time points. A similar pattern of serum cTnI levels and their strong positive correlation with miR-1 levels were identified in these patients. The results suggest that serum and urine miR-1 may be a novel sensitive biomarker for myocardial injury in open-heart surgeries with CPB.     

Microvesicles as Emerging Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Cardiometabolic Diseases

Microvesicles (MVs, also known as microparticles) are small vesicles that originate from plasma membrane of almost all eukaryotic cells during apoptosis or activation. MVs can serve as extracellular vehicles to transport bioactive molecules from their parental cells to recipient target cells, thereby serving as novel mediators for intercellular communication. Importantly, more and more evidence indicates that MVs could play important roles in early pathogenesis and subsequent progression of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Elevated plasma concentrations of MVs, originating from red blood cells, leukocytes, platelets, or other organs and tissues, have been reported in various cardiometabolic diseases. Circulating MVs could serve as potential biomarkers for disease diagnosis or therapeutic monitoring. In this review, we summarized recently-published studies in the field and discussed the role of MVs in the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases. The emerging values of MVs that serve as biomarker for non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis, as well as their roles as novel therapeutic targets in cardiometabolic diseases, were also described.     

Mercapturic acids as biomarkers of exposure to electrophilic chemicals:applications to environmental and industrial chemicals

The use of mercapturic acids (N-acetyl-L-cysteine S-conjugates, MAs) in the biological monitoring of human exposure to environmental and industrial chemicals is receiving more and more attention. Mercapturic acids (MAs) are formed from glutathione (GSH) S-conjugates via the MA-pathway. Although this pathway can lead to different end-products, the formation of MAs is the predominant route in most species, including man. Two GSH S-transferases (GSTs) show genetic polymorphisms in humans and this can have major consequences for individual susceptibility to toxic effects and for MA formation. In occupational toxicology, adducts to biomacromolecules are also used as biomarkers. DNA adducts are a measure for the effective dose, while protein adducts are related to the dose at critical site. Both type of adducts are normally determined in blood, while MAs are determined in urine. Most MAs are excreted with relatively short half-lifes, allowing a direct evaluation of the occupational circumstances. For many compounds similar (linear) dose-dependency was found for MA excretion, formation of macromolecular adducts, and for various biomarkers of toxic effects. These relations together with fact that MAs relate to the electrophilic character of compounds, allows for the conclusion that MAs are biomarkers of toxicologically relevant internal doses of chemicals or their metabolites. An overview will be given here of the use of MAs in the assessment of internal human exposure to electrophilic environmental and industrial chemicals. Additionally, the formation of GSH S-conjugates, their catabolism to MAs and several of the frequently used analytical approaches are discussed. When appropriate, the influence of genetic polymorphisms on formation of MAs and on susceptibility to toxicity will be discussed for different chemicals as well.     

骨性关节炎生物学标志物研究进展

骨性关节炎(oseteoarthritis,OA)是一种随着年龄增长发病率明显升高的退行性变,常累及脊柱、髋、膝等人体负重关节,以关节缓慢发展的疼痛、肿胀,伴功能障碍为临床表现,主要有滑膜增生、软骨破坏、软骨下骨骨化及骨赘形成等一系列病理表现。OA对人类的健康和生活质量影响很大,随着老龄化社会的到来,本病的发病率日趋升高,其研究已成为医学领域中的重要课题。目前,OA的早期诊断、病变监测和有效防治仍是骨科领域亟待解决的疑难问题。随着分子生物学的发展和研究手段的提高,许多研究者都在试图寻找用于临床评价OA的生物学标志物。本文将就OA研究中所使用的主要标志物进行综述,为深入研究OA提供方便。     

Circulating Tumor DNA as Biomarkers for Cancer Detection

Detection of circulating tumor DNAs (ctDNAs) in cancer patients is an important component of cancer precision medicine ctDNAs. Compared to the traditional physical and biochemical methods, blood-based ctDNA detection offers a non-invasive and easily accessible way for cancer diagnosis, prognostic determination, and guidance for treatment. While studies on this topic are currently underway, clinical translation of ctDNA detection in various types of cancers has been attracting much attention, due to the great potential of ctDNA as blood-based biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment of cancers. ctDNAs are detected and tracked primarily based on tumor-related genetic and epigenetic alterations. In this article, we reviewed the available studies on ctDNA detection and described the representative methods. We also discussed the current understanding of ctDNAs in cancer patients and their availability as potential biomarkers for clinical purposes. Considering the progress made and challenges involved in accurate detection of specific cell-free nucleic acids, ctDNAs hold promise to serve as biomarkers for cancer patients, and further validation is needed prior to their broad clinical use.