Venous plasma serotonin is not a proper biomarker for pulmonary arterial hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
Serotonin (5-HT) most likely plays an important role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We aimed to test if venous plasma 5-HT is a potential biomarker of PAH. We also measured venous blood β-thromboglobulin (β-TG) in all participants to ensure that any increase in serotonin levels measured is due to platelet release.


METHODS
Blood samples from patients (n = 9) with pulmonary arterial hypertension (Group 1 of the World Health Organization classification of pulmonary hypertension) as well as healthy volunteers (n = 9) were analyzed. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure venous platelet-poor plasma 5-HT and β-TG in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and in age-matched normal controls.


RESULTS
Venous platelet-free plasma 5-HT and β-TG were almost similar in patients with PAH and healthy controls with only a slight trend toward increased 5-HT levels in patients with PAH. No correlation was found between venous platelet-poor plasma 5-HT and disease severity. There was no association between venous plasma 5-HT and the mean pulmonary artery pressure.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that 5-HT is not significantly elevated in venous platelet-free plasma in patients with PAH and may accordingly not be a useful biomarker in this condition.
Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, NTNU , Trondheim , Norway.
Fatemeh
F
Zeinali
Øyvind
Ø
Hauso
Rune
R
Wiseth
Marcel
M
Moufack
Helge L
HL
Waldum
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D065627:Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012701:Serotonin / Q000097:blood*; D001620:beta-Thromboglobulin / Q000378:metabolism
D015415:Biomarkers; D001620:beta-Thromboglobulin; D012701:Serotonin