Overexpression of chitinase like protein YKL-40 in leukemia patients

YKL-40 is a member of mammalian chitanase (CHI3L1), expressed and secreted by several types of solid tumor cells, inflammatory cells and stem cells. The precise physiological role of YKL-40 in cancer is still not clear and it is suggested that it play a role in cancer cell proliferation, differentiation, metastatic potential, cell attachment and migration, reorganization and tissue remodeling.The aim of the study was to check the appearance of YKL-40 in leukemic cells and over-expression of YKL-40 in the plasma of leukemia patients in comparison to healthy controls, and find whether YKL-40 could serve as a peripheral biomarker for leukemia. The study was conducted between July 2012 and March 2013 and included 67 volunteers, 55 having leukemia at the stage of diagnosis ofthe disease and 12 normal healthy volunteers. YKL-40 levels were determined in all plasma samples using the YKL-40 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit and expression of YKL-40 was observed by using immunocytochemical (ICC) analysis. YKL-40 plasma levels differed significantly between patients with leukemia and the normal healthy volunteers (P=