title: Changes of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 levels in serum and urine of patients with white matter lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) has been established as a potential biomarker of neuronal damage. There is not much information about the effects of white matter lesions (WMLs) on serum and urine UCH-L1 levels in white matter disease patients. This study was aimed to assess whether serum or urine UCH-L1 levels are a reliable marker of brain damage in patients with WMLs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum and urine levels of UCH-L1 were assessed in 125 patients with dizziness, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, or dyslipidemia. Of these 125 patient cases, 41 showed periventricular WMLs (P-WMLs), 46 showed subcortical WMLs (S-WMLs), and 38 displayed no well-defined WMLs (controls).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum UCH-L1 levels were significantly different between the WML group and controls (p<0.05). Further subgroup analysis proved that serum UCH-L1 levels in participants with S-WMLs were significantly increased when compared with controls (p<0.001), but there was no significant differences between controls and patients with P-WMLs (p>0.05). However, urine levels of UCH-L1 were similar between these three groups (p>0.05). In addition, multivariate analysis showed that increased serum UCH-L1 levels were independently associated with the severity of WMLs using Fazekas scale (β=0.432, p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that serum UCH-L1 levels may serve as a novel biomarker for neuronal damage from WMLs, especially S-WMLs.
authors.affiliation: Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Cerebral Diseases, Institute for Brain Disorders, Dalian Medical University, Western 9 Lvshunnan Road, Lvshun District, Dalian 116044, PR China. Electronic address: liyuyuan831221@163.com.
authors.forename: Yuyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Cerebral Diseases, Institute for Brain Disorders, Dalian Medical University, Western 9 Lvshunnan Road, Lvshun District, Dalian 116044, PR China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, The Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Dalian University, No. 156 Wansui Street, Dalian 116021, PR China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, No. 222 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116011, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116023, PR China.
authors.forename: Yongzhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Cerebral Diseases, Institute for Brain Disorders, Dalian Medical University, Western 9 Lvshunnan Road, Lvshun District, Dalian 116044, PR China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Cerebral Diseases, Institute for Brain Disorders, Dalian Medical University, Western 9 Lvshunnan Road, Lvshun District, Dalian 116044, PR China.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Cerebral Diseases, Institute for Brain Disorders, Dalian Medical University, Western 9 Lvshunnan Road, Lvshun District, Dalian 116044, PR China.
authors.forename: Tiezheng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Cerebral Diseases, Institute for Brain Disorders, Dalian Medical University, Western 9 Lvshunnan Road, Lvshun District, Dalian 116044, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaohan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Dalian Medical University, Western 9 Lvshunnan Road, Lvshun District, Dalian 116044, PR China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sha
authors.affiliation: Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Cerebral Diseases, Institute for Brain Disorders, Dalian Medical University, Western 9 Lvshunnan Road, Lvshun District, Dalian 116044, PR China. Electronic address: cksun110@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D056784:Leukoencephalopathies / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C482860:UCHL1 protein, human; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase
keywords: Biomarkers; Serum; UCH-L1; Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1; Urine; WMLs; White matter lesions