الفهرس 
TUMOR MARKERS
Methods of determination of YKL-40Only 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
YKL-40 is a protein, which has been termed according to its molecular weight (40 kDa) and the one letter code for its three NH2-terminal amino acids; tyrosine (Y), lysine (K) and leucine (L). It is a glycoprotein which contains a single polypeptide chain composed of 383 amino acids. YKL-40 is a member of the 18 glycosyl hydrolase family, a protein family which includes chitinases and chitinase-related proteins. It has been suggested that YKL-40 may play a role in the proliferation and differentiation of malignant cells, protection of cancer cells from undergoing apoptosis, stimulation of angiogenesis or affecting the intracellular tissue remodeling. Studies revealed that YKL-40 is expressed in patients with hematological malignancies such as acute myeloid leukemia, as well as several types of solid tumors, such as breast, colon, lung, kidney, thyroid, ovary, prostate, uterus, pancreas and many other solid tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine if serum YKL-40 is a clinically useful biomarker of activity and prognosis in various human malignant diseases. The results of studies on that subject indicate that serum YKL-40 is a biomarker of pathogenic processes related to solid carcinomas, extracellular tissue remodeling, fibrosis and inflammation. Studies revealed that in patients with solid carcinomas, the serum concentration of YKL-40 provides information of disease extension and aggressiveness and that serum YKL-40 is not closely related to other serological tumor markers. High serum YKL-40 levels in cancer patients with different types of solid carcinoma were found to be a ”prognosticator” of short time to disease progression and short survival.