title: Serum sEPCR levels are elevated in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Blood-brain barrier impairment and endothelial cell dysfunction have both been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The presence of vascular risk factors is also known to increase the risk of AD. Soluble endothelial protein C receptor (sEPCR) should thus produce procoagulant and proinflammatory effects. Serum sEPCR levels have been found to be associated with several diseases. To date, no reports have been published regarding serum sEPCR levels in AD. In this study, we found that serum sEPCR levels were significantly increased in patients with AD when compared to control participants (P = .0005). There was no significant difference between patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls (P = .055) or between patients with AD and MCI (P = .054). Importantly, our results also indicate that the degree of cognitive impairment is significantly correlated with serum sEPCR levels in all patients and healthy controls. These findings suggest that serum sEPCR levels could be a potential candidate for a biomarker panel for AD diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Huangshi Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, China.
authors.forename: Yongjian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, Huangshi Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, China.
authors.forename: Zhilong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, the People's Hospital of Daye City, Daye, China.
authors.forename: Xugang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Huangshi Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, China hs42799@sina.com.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood*; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000097:blood*; D000074283:Endothelial Protein C Receptor; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000097:blood*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015415:Biomarkers; D000074283:Endothelial Protein C Receptor; C478370:PROCR protein, human; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; biomarker; dementia; sEPCR