title: YKL-40 as marker of severe lung disease in cystic fibrosis patients.
abstract: YKL-40 is a chitinase-like protein present in serum of healthy subjects and its levels are increased in several human inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of both serum and sputum YKL-40 in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.
  
  
  
  Serum and sputum YKL-40 levels were measured in a cohort of twenty-eight patients with a diagnosis of CF and twenty healthy controls.
  
  
  
  Serum YKL-40 levels were significantly higher in CF patients (88.8±56.7 vs 18.6±2.9ng/ml, P<0.001), as well as sputum YKL-40 levels (138.5±132.7 vs 28.2±24.34, P<0.001) than in healthy controls. Serum YKL-40 levels were closely related to YKL-40 levels assessed in sputum samples (r=0.71; P<0.01).
  
  
  
  YKL-40 is elevated in CF patients and is further elevated during severe exacerbations. Longitudinal studies in infant are needed to establish its role in disease pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy. Electronic address: leonardi@unict.it.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leonardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe Fabio
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capizzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Unit of Pediatric Genetics and Immunology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manti
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Unit of Pediatric Genetics and Immunology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuppari
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Scuderi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Novella
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rotolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanzafame
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Microbiology, Center for Integrated Research, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Musumeci
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Unit of Pediatric Genetics and Immunology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salpietro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D000071451:Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1 / Q000097:blood*; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000379:methods; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013183:Sputum / Q000378:metabolism*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D000067251:Symptom Flare Up
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C084533:CHI3L1 protein, human; D000071451:Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1
keywords: Acute pulmonary exacerbation; Cystic fibrosis; Lung function decline; Pulmonary pseudomonas infection; YKL-40