Copeptin is the carboxyl-terminus of the arginine vasopressin (AVP) precursor peptide. The main physiological functions of AVP are fluid and osmotic balance, cardiovascular homeostasis, and regulation of endocrine stress response. Copeptin, which is released in an equimolar mode with AVP from the neurohypophysis, has emerged as a stable and simple-to-measure surrogate marker of AVP and has displayed enormous potential in clinical practice. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently recognized as a primary threat to the health of the population worldwide, and thus, rapid and effective approaches to identify individuals that are at high risk of, or have already developed CVD are required. Copeptin is a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in CVD, including the rapid rule-out of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), mortality prediction in heart failure (HF), and stroke. This review summarizes and discusses the value of copeptin in the diagnosis, discrimination, and prognosis of CVD (AMI, HF, and stroke), as well as the caveats and prospects for the application of this potential biomarker.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the sixth leading cause of death worldwide and cannot be effectively cured or prevented; thus, early diagnosis, and intervention are important. The importance of exosomes, membrane-bound extracellular vesicles produced in the endosome of eukaryotic cells, in the development, diagnosis, and treatment of AD has been recognized; however, their specific functions remain controversial and even unclear. With the development of exosome extraction, isolation, and characterization, many studies have focused on exosomes derived from different cells and body fluids. In this study, we summarized the roles of exosomes derived from different body fluids and cells, such as neuron, glial, stem, and endothelial cells, in the development, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of AD. We also emphasize the necessity to focus on exosomes from biological fluids and specific cells that are less invasive to target. Moreover, aside from the concentrations of classic and novel biomarkers in exosomes, the size and number of exosomes may also influence early and differential diagnosis of AD.

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Sample preparation is the rate-limiting step in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC−MS)/MS-based clinical analysis when target analytes possess significantly different properties. Repeated solid-phase extraction (SPE) processes are typically required, resulting in low throughput and excessive consumption of labor, materials, and samples. In this study, we developed and validated a feasible and productive method to enrich target analytes with different properties during a single operation, while sufficiently removing matrix interferences to meet LC−MS/MS requirements. Gastrin determination was selected as the subject of this study. An automated magnetic-beadassisted sequential extraction (MBASE) workflow was developed to simultaneously isolate nonsulfated gastrin-17 (G17ns), sulfated gastrin-17 (G17s), nonsulfated gastrin-34 (G34ns), and sulfated gastrin-34 (G34s) from human serum. It performs two different ion-exchange-based magnetic-bead extraction steps on one sample aliquot to produce one combined extract for LC−MS/MS analysis. When compared with the traditional SPE process, the MBASE workflow saves over 75% time and labor expenses as well as over 90% material cost, while providing even higher extraction efficiency. The MBASE LC−MS/MS method was validated as accurate and robust. Clinical sample test results demonstrated that the conventional chemiluminescence immunoassay method significantly under-estimated total gastrins in human serum, and the MBASE LC−MS/MS method could serve as an ideal tool to provide a comprehensive and accurate gastrin profile.

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