Plasma CHI3L1 in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Potential Differential Diagnostic Biomarker

Abstract

(1) Background: Motor neuron diseases (MNDs) are fatal neurodegenerative diseases. Biomarkers could help with defining patients’ prognoses and stratifications. Besides neurofilaments, chitinases are a promising family of possible biomarkers which correlate with neuroinflammatory status. We evaluated the plasmatic levels of CHI3L1 in MNDs, MND mimics, and healthy controls (HCs). (2) Methods: We used a sandwich ELISA to quantify the CHI3L1 in plasma samples from 44 MND patients, 7 hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) patients, 9 MND mimics, and 19 HCs. We also collected a ALSFRSr scale, MRC scale, spirometry, mutational status, progression rate (PR), blood sampling, and neuropsychological evaluation. (3) Results: The plasma levels of the CHI3L1 were different among groups (p = 0.005). Particularly, the MND mimics showed higher CHI3L1 levels compared with the MND patients and HCs. The CHI3L1 levels did not differ among PMA, PLS, and ALS, and we did not find a correlation among the CHI3L1 levels and clinical scores, spirometry parameters, PR, and neuropsychological features. Of note, the red blood cell count and haemoglobin was correlated with the CHI3L1 levels (respectively, p < 0.001, r = 0.63; p = 0.022, and r = 0.52). (4) Conclusions: The CHI3L1 plasma levels were increased in the MND mimics cohort compared with MNDs group. The increase of CHI3L1 in neuroinflammatory processes could explain our findings. We confirmed that the CHI3L1 plasma levels did not allow for differentiation between ALS and HCs, nor were they correlated with neuropsychological impairment.

Identification of candidate biomarkers and pathways associated with multiple sclerosis using bioinformatics and next generation sequencing data analysis

“…PNPLA3 [174], ACTN2 [175], MMP15 [176], SVEP1 [177], CPB2 [178], DYSF (dysferlin) [179], ADAMTSL2 [180], NINJ2 [181], LRP2 [106], PHLDA3 [182], LIPC (lipase C, hepatic type) [183], CARNS1 [184], PRODH (proline dehydrogenase 1) [185], TRPV6 [186], CNDP1 [187], DHCR7 [188], KCNE5 [189] SAA1 [190], ADSS1 [191], ACADS (acyl-CoA dehydrogenase short chain) [192], ADAP1 [193], KLK10 [194], HCN2 [195], F11 [196], RNASE1 [197], GNLY (granulysin) [198], EVA1A [199], CIRBP (cold inducible RNA binding protein) [200], EDIL3 [201], NOXA1 [202], ANGPTL2 [203], CYP2A6 [204] and CTNNA3 [205] might be associated with cardiovascular diseases progression. The abnormal expression of CCL18 [206], EOMES (eomesodermin) [207], GZMA (granzyme A) [208], HLA-DRB5 [209], GPNMB (glycoprotein nmb) [210], PRPH (peripherin) [211], HGF (hepatocyte growth factor) [212], TTR (transthyretin) [213], VEGFA (vascular endothelial growth factor A) [214], CHI3L1 [215], AATK (apoptosis associated tyrosine kinase) [216], SREBF1 [217], OLIG2 [218], ATF3 [219], NGFR (nerve growth factor receptor) [220], ADAMTS4 [221], LMNA (lamin A/C) [222], MT3 [223], DAO (D-amino acid oxidase) [224], AATK (apoptosis associated tyrosine kinase) [216] and LGALS3BP [225] might be related to the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. SLAMF7 [226], GPR174 [227], FCRL3 [228], SLAMF6 [229], EOMES (eomesodermin) [230], CCR4 [231], CCR2 [232], CD48 [233], CD3E [234], CCL26 [235], CCL4 [236], SLAMF1 [237], CD24 [238], IKZF3 [239], CD2 […”

Plasma YKL-40 is associated with prognosis in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors in combination with radiotherapy

“…Recently, in vivo studies using antibody-based blockade of YKL-40 or blockade using chitooligosaccharides have shown synergistic effects with immunotherapy ( 3 , 8 , 9 , 11 ). Plasma YKL-40 is investigated as a biomarker in different diseases characterized by inflammation, including cancer, autoimmune, fibrotic, and neurodegenerative diseases ( 12 – 16 ). Additionally, plasma YKL-40 levels in healthy subjects increase with age ( 17 ).…”