title: Circulating serum trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) is dramatically increased in chronic kidney disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) is a small peptide that plays an important role in mucosal protection, cell proliferation, and cell migration. The aberrant expression of TFF3 is correlated with gastrointestinal inflammation, solid tumors, and other clinical diseases. The objective of this study was to identify the distribution characteristics of serum TFF3 in common clinical diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  A large prospective randomized study of 1,072 Chinese patients was performed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to examine the serum TFF3 concentrations in patients with different diseases. A matched case-control study was conducted on patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 1-5. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed using renal tissues to determine the relationship between the severity of CKD and the serum and urine concentrations of TFF3 peptides.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean serum concentrations of TFF3 in patients with CKD, metastatic and secondary carcinoma (MC) and acute gastroenteritis (AG) (200.9 ng/ml, 95.7 ng/ml and 71.7 ng/ml, respectively) were significantly higher than those in patients with other common clinical diseases. A positive correlation tendency was observed between the serum TFF3 concentrations and the severity of CKD. The mean serum TFF3 values for CKD stages 1-5 were 23.6 ng/ml, 29.9 ng/ml, 54.9 ng/ml, 85.0 ng/ml and 176.6 ng/ml, respectively. The same trend was observed in the urine TFF3 concentrations and the CKD stages. The creatinine(Cr)-corrected concentrations of TFF3 in urine were 367.1 ng/mg·Cr, 910.6 ng/mg·Cr, 1,149.0 ng/mg·Cr, 1,610.0 ng/mg·Cr and 3,475.0 ng/mg·Cr for CKD stages 1-5, respectively. IHC revealed that TFF3 expression was concentrated in tubular epithelial cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The influence of kidney injuries must be fully considered when performing clinical TFF3 research. Further studies on TFF3 in CKD will contribute to our understanding of its pathological roles and mechanisms in other diseases.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China ; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China ; Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.
authors.forename: Ting-yi
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Hui-ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Hai-chun
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000378:metabolism; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000235:genetics; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D000071165:Trefoil Factor-3
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; C082495:TFF3 protein, human; D000071165:Trefoil Factor-3