BackgroundTo determine reference intervals for serum levels of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in Chinese women.MethodsIn this multicenter (n = 9) study, 618 healthy women, 767 patients with non-malignant diseases, and 951 patients with malignant tumors were enrolled. Serum levels of HE4 were measured in all patients using electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. The influence of age, menopause, malignancy status and other characteristics on the levels of HE4 was evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. Confidence intervals (2.5–97.5 %) were determined in different populations.ResultsThere were significant differences in HE4 levels among groups with different ages, menopause or malignancy status. Higher levels of HE4 were detected in elder compared to younger, post- compare to pre- menopause and malignant compared to benign subjects. Multivariate analysis showed that menopause and malignancy status, as well as smoking and pelvic masses were independent factors involved in serum HE4 levels. In pre-menopause stage, the reference ranges of HE4 level were 29.30–68.79, 28.12–1284.83 and 34.75–981.91 pmol/L in healthy, benign and malignant populations, respectively. In post-menopause stage, the reference ranges are 35.96–114.43, 39.11–2208.70 and 39.40–1678.13 pmol/L for those populations.ConclusionsThe present study has established the reference intervals of HE4 levels in pre- and post-menopause populations with different malignancy status.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13048-015-0201-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective Lymphocyte cytosolic protein 2 (LCP2) is often ectopically expressed in various human tumors. However, the clinical significance and role of LCP2 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remain unclear. This study explored the prognostic significance of LCP2 in LUAD patients. Methods LCP2 expression in LUAD tissues was analyzed using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype-Tissue Expression databases. Western blotting was employed to detect LCP2 expression in LUAD. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were performed to explore signaling pathways mediated by LCP2 co-regulatory genes. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine levels of LCP2 and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in 68 LUAD patients. Associations between LCP2 expression and clinicopathological features, prognoses, and PD-L1 levels among the LUAD in-patients were analyzed. Results Among the 68 LUAD in-patients, LCP2 expression was correlated with clinical stage and lymph node metastasis. LUAD patients with high LCP2 expression were associated with increased overall survival. LCP2 expression may be associated with an enrichment of several immune functions. Moreover, our immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that LCP2 expression was positively correlated with PD-L1 expression in LUAD tissues. Conclusions In the study, LCP2 was found to be a favorable prognostic biomarker in LUAD patients.

Central nervous system tuberculosis is the most serious form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. We aim to discover potential biomarkers involved in the development of the disease. Methods: Through gene difference analysis, construction of a protein interaction network and tissue specific analysis and other bioinformatics analysis methods, we found out the relatively high expression of important substances in the central nervous system, interferon induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 1. Subsequently, the lesion tissue and the resection margin tissue away from the lesion were collected from the 6 cases of central nervous system tuberculosis patients diagnosed from 2019 to 2020, and the pathological manifestations were observed by Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining, and the expression of IFIT1 was verified by immunohistochemistry. Results: A total of 101 differential genes were analyzed between extrapulmonary tuberculosis patients and normal people, and they were mainly enriched in the interferon pathway. The protein interaction network unearthed 34 key genes. Through tissue specific analysis, it was found that IFIT1 is relatively high in the central nervous system. H&E staining showed the expression of multinucleated macrophages, and immunohistochemistry showed that IFIT1 was significantly positively expressed in the lesion tissue. Conclusion: IFIT1 is an important substance involved in central nervous system tuberculosis.

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