title: SULF2, a heparan sulfate endosulfatase, is present in the blood of healthy individuals and increases in cirrhosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  SULF2 is an extracellular sulfatase that acts on heparan sulfate proteoglycans and modulates multiple signaling pathways. It is normally bound to the cell surface but can be released into the medium of cultured cells. SULF2 is known to be increased in cirrhotic liver compared to healthy liver. We asked whether SULF2 protein was present in the blood of healthy controls and increased in patients with liver cirrhosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We devised a sandwich ELISA for SULF2 using 2 novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and measured its levels in sera of normal individuals and cirrhosis patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SULF2 was higher in cirrhosis patients (1460 ± 1160 pg/ml, N=34) than in healthy individuals (728 ± 400 pg/ml, N=37). SULF2 levels increased with age in both healthy and patient groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SULF2 may be a useful serologic biomarker for liver cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States.
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery and Pathology, University of California, San Francisco 94158, United States.
authors.forename: Joanna J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco 94143, United States.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lemjabbar-Alaoui
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States.
authors.forename: Yang Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057, United States.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057, United States.
authors.forename: Radoslav
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States. Electronic address: steven.rosen@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Rosen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D013429:Sulfatases; D015238:Sulfotransferases / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015238:Sulfotransferases; C470792:SULF2 protein, human; D013429:Sulfatases
keywords: Cirrhosis; ELISA; Extracellular sulfatase; Heparan sulfate; SULF2; Serum