Serum levels of Midkine in children and adolescents without malignant disease.
BACKGROUND
Midkine (MK), a heparin-binding growth factor, is a secreted protein and can be detected in a patient's sera.


METHODS
MK was studied in the sera of 215 children and adolescents without malignant disease using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in order to determine the distribution of concentrations in a control population for pediatric oncology patients. Tested subjects either underwent surgical procedures or suffered from endocrinological diseases.


RESULTS
Elevated MK levels were found in patients with short stature, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and cleft lip and palate. These patients were subsequently excluded from the "non-cancer" group. MK serum levels did neither correlate with sex, age, weight or height nor showed a normal distribution (n= 152, range: 0.0-5.58 ng/ml, median: 0.0 ng/ml, mean: 0.26 ng/ml, SD: +/-0.61).


CONCLUSIONS
MK serum values in children and adolescents are widely spread and not normally distributed. The present results indicate that the MK expression is influenced by many factors apart from cancer, which have not yet been identified.
Lucas
Susanne
S
Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Henze
Günter
G
Schnabel
Dirk
D
Barthlen
Winfried
W
Sakuma
Sadatoshi
S
Kurtz
Andreas
A
Driever
Pablo Hernáiz
PH
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D000078792:Midkine; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D012016:Reference Values
D016207:Cytokines; D000078792:Midkine