Lipocalin-2 as a biomarker for diabetic nephropathy

Diabetes is a major global public health issue.The prevalence of type 1 diabetes is comparatively static,as hereditary and genetic causes are involved,while type 2 diabetes(T2D)prevalence is increasing day by day.T2D is associated with chronic complications,including diabetic neuropathy(DN),nephropathy,retinopathy,and other complications like diabetic foot.DN is the main complication of both types of diabetes.DN can be diagnosed by routine laboratory tests,microalbuminuria>300 mg/24 h,and a gradual decrease in glomerular filtration rate.As the appearance of microalbuminuria is a late manifestation,an early marker for renal damage is needed.Lipocalin-2,also known as neutrophil gelatinaseassociated lipocalin(NGAL),is a small protein purified from neutrophil granules and a good marker for kidney disease.NGAL is a transporter protein responsible for many physiological processes,such as inflammation,generation of the immune response,and metabolic homeostasis.NGAL has been reported to depict the early changes in renal damage when urine microalbumin is still undetecable.Therefore,elucidating the role of NGAL in detecting DN and understanding its mechanism can help establish it as a potential early marker for DN.

Levels of neutrophil gelatinase-assosciated lipocalin in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in Indian population from Haryana state

AIM To study the levels of neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin(NGAL) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC).METHODS This was a non randomized case control study conducted at Department of Biochemistry,in collaboration with Regional Cancer Center over a period of one year.The study population included 50 adult newly diagnosed HNSCC patients reporting in outpatient department at Regional Cancer Center and compared with 50 healthy controls.NGAL was estimated by ELISA technique.Student t test and χ~2 test were applied for comparison of means of study groups.Correlations between groups were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient(r) formula.RESULTS Patients with HNSCC exhibited significantly increased levels of NGAL(P < 0.05) as compared to healthy controls(978.88 ± 261.39 ng/mL vs 34.83 ± 7.59 ng/mL).Out of 50,26 patients(52%) were in stage Ⅳ,21(42%) in stage Ⅲ,1(2%) patient in stage Ⅱ and 2(4%) patients were in stage Ⅰ.Metastasis was absent in 98% patients and mean NGAL levels were highest in these patients but P value was not significant.Mean NGAL levels were highest in stage Ⅳ [1041.54 ± 222.15 ng/mL(stage Ⅳ) vs 1040 ± 0.00 ng/mL(stage Ⅰ);900 ± 0.00 ng/mL(stage Ⅱ) and 1031.90 ± 202.55 ng/mL(stage Ⅲ)] and χ~2 test was highly significant(P < 0.001).Thirty-six patients(72%) were having moderately differentiated HNSCC and mean NGAL levels were maximum in patients with well differentiated HNSCC(1164 ± 315.64 ng/mL vs 1013.33 ± 161.19 ng/mL in moderately differentiated and 890 ± 11.55 ng/mL in poorly differentiated) and the results were also highly significant(P < 0.001,χ~2 test).CONCLUSION The present work demonstrates a potential role of NGAL as cancer biomarker and its use in monitoring the HNSCC progression.

Updated overview of current biomarkers in head and neck carcinoma

Squamous cell cancer is the most common type of malignancy arising from the epithelial cells of the head and neck region. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC) is one of the predominant causes of cancer related casualties worldwide. Overall prognosis in this disease has improved to some extent with the advancements in therapeutic modalities but detection of primary tumor at its initial stage and prevention of relapse are the major targets to be achieved for further improvement in terms of survival rate of patients. Latest achievements in basic research regarding molecular characterization of the disease has helped in better perception of the molecular mechanisms involved in HNSCC progression and also in recognizing and tar-geting various molecular biomarkers associated with HNSCC. In the present article, we review the infor-mation regarding latest and potential biomarkers for the early detection of HNSCC. A detailed molecular characterization, ultimately, is likely to improve the development of new therapeutic strategies, potentially relevant to diagnosis and prognosis of head and neck cancers. The need for more accurate and timely disease prediction has generated enormous research interests in this field.