title: Stability analysis of vascular endothelial growth factor in cerebrospinal fluid.
abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a promising biological marker and prognostic indicator in many neurological diseases. Although VEGF concentrations in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are increasingly reported, CSF-VEGF stability pre- and during-assay procedures is seldom evaluated. In the current study, we investigated VEGF variability and stability in CSF related to sample preparation, storage, and routine experimental procedures. Results showed that contaminant cell breakdown or aggregation can occur gradually before sample processing. However, after the removal of contaminant cell components, CSF-VEGF levels did not show significant changes in samples incubated at room temperature for 5 h, thawed/refrozen for 6 cycles. Samples preserved at -80 °C for up to 7 years continued to show measurable levels. Since some cellular components such as platelets contain a large amount of releasable VEGF, we conclude that CSF samples should be processed as soon as possible to carefully remove all cellular components and prevent possible consequent release of VEGF into CSF. After centrifugation to remove cellular contents, VEGF in CSF was relatively stable during routine experimental procedures and storage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Section of Pediatric and Congenital Neurological Surgery, CSF Physiology Laboratory, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, S-60, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Dombrowski
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deshpande
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Krajcir
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El-Khoury
authors.forename: Chandra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Luciano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D002469:Cell Separation; D002498:Centrifugation; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000166:cytology; D004355:Drug Stability; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005615:Freezing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A