Abstract
Background: Kallikrein 6 (KLK6) is a serine protease involved in numerous cellular processes, up-regulated in many cancers and associated with some neurodegenerative disorders. The aim of this study was to establish a reference interval and estimate the biological variation of KLK6 in serum samples of adults. Furthermore, levels of this protein in patients with renal failure were also studied.
Methods: Serum samples from healthy volunteers (n=136) were collected. Between 15 and 18 additional samples from four of these subjects were obtained over a period of 2 months. Samples from individuals (n=1043) who visited the University Health Network for a routine check-up were collected to study the association between KLK6 with age and gender. Samples from patients with renal failure (n=106) were also obtained and KLK6 and creatinine concentrations were analyzed by ELISA and an automated enzymatic method, respectively.
Results: The reference interval was established to be 1.04–3.93 ng/mL. The index of individuality was 0.43 and the reference change value was 35%. Only two serum samples would be required to estimate the homeostatic setting point of an individual. There is a weak but highly significant positive correlation between KLK6 and age (p<0.0001). Furthermore, there is a significant positive correlation between serum concentrations of KLK6 and creatinine (p<0.0001), in patients with renal failure.
Conclusions: The established reference interval for KLK6 and the estimation of its biological variation will further aid in the clinical use of this protein as a serum marker of malignancy and other diseases.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorials
- Reference values and the journal: why the past is now present
- Other-than-annual variations in morning determinations of uric acid
- Reviews
- Blood biochemical markers of bone turnover: pre-analytical and technical aspects of sample collection and handling
- A comprehensive review of upper reference limits reported for (high-)sensitivity cardiac troponin assays: the challenges that lie ahead
- Mini Review
- Reference change values
- Opinion Papers
- Obtaining reference intervals traceable to reference measurement systems: is it possible, who is responsible, what is the strategy?
- Analytical performance, reference values and decision limits. A need to differentiate between reference intervals and decision limits and to define analytical quality specifications
- A pragmatic proposal for permissible limits in external quality assessment schemes with a compromise between biological variation and the state of the art
- Original Articles
- Age dependence of within-subject biological variation of nine common clinical chemistry analytes
- Population-based pediatric reference intervals for general clinical chemistry analytes on the Abbott Architect ci8200 instrument
- Uric acid biorhythm, a feature of long-term variation in a clinical laboratory database
- Age-related changes in serum amino acids concentrations in healthy individuals
- Characterisation of a highly sensitive troponin I assay and its application to a cardio-healthy population
- Are the currently used reference intervals for creatine kinase (CK) reflecting the general population? The Tromsø Study
- Age-specific thyroid hormone and thyrotropin reference intervals for a pediatric and adolescent population
- Serum thyroglobulin reference values according to NACB criteria in healthy subjects with normal thyroid ultrasound
- Thyroid volume influences serum calcitonin levels in a thyroid-healthy population: results of a 3-assay, 519 subjects study
- Impact of the reference values on the clinically-relevant cut-offs. The example of cortisol testing in children
- Trimester-specific reference intervals for haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in pregnancy
- The concentration of adiponectin in breast milk is related to maternal hormonal and inflammatory status during 6 months of lactation
- Age- and sex-specific reference limits for creatinine, cystatin C and the estimated glomerular filtration rate
- Determination of the biological variation of S100β and lactate dehydrogenase in disease-free patients with malignant melanoma
- Reference intervals and biological variation for kallikrein 6: influence of age and renal failure
- Faecal haemoglobin concentrations by gender and age: implications for population-based screening for colorectal cancer
- Reference intervals of extended erythrocyte and reticulocyte parameters
- Haematological and iron metabolism parameters in professional cyclists during the Giro d’Italia 3-weeks stage race
- Reference change values for lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive α-fetoprotein and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin in patients with chronic hepatitis C
- Letters to the Editor
- Disadvantages of using biological variation data for reference change values
- Reference change values may need some improvement but are invaluable tools in laboratory medicine
- Insulin-like growth factor 1 reference intervals for a chemiluminescent enzyme immunometric assay (Immulite 2000®) in an adult Mediterranean population
- Reference values for new red blood cell and platelet parameters on the Abbott Diagnostics Cell-Dyn Sapphire
- Congress Abstracts
- Swiss MedLab 2012 Congress of the Swiss Union of Laboratory Medicine (SULM)
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorials
- Reference values and the journal: why the past is now present
- Other-than-annual variations in morning determinations of uric acid
- Reviews
- Blood biochemical markers of bone turnover: pre-analytical and technical aspects of sample collection and handling
- A comprehensive review of upper reference limits reported for (high-)sensitivity cardiac troponin assays: the challenges that lie ahead
- Mini Review
- Reference change values
- Opinion Papers
- Obtaining reference intervals traceable to reference measurement systems: is it possible, who is responsible, what is the strategy?
- Analytical performance, reference values and decision limits. A need to differentiate between reference intervals and decision limits and to define analytical quality specifications
- A pragmatic proposal for permissible limits in external quality assessment schemes with a compromise between biological variation and the state of the art
- Original Articles
- Age dependence of within-subject biological variation of nine common clinical chemistry analytes
- Population-based pediatric reference intervals for general clinical chemistry analytes on the Abbott Architect ci8200 instrument
- Uric acid biorhythm, a feature of long-term variation in a clinical laboratory database
- Age-related changes in serum amino acids concentrations in healthy individuals
- Characterisation of a highly sensitive troponin I assay and its application to a cardio-healthy population
- Are the currently used reference intervals for creatine kinase (CK) reflecting the general population? The Tromsø Study
- Age-specific thyroid hormone and thyrotropin reference intervals for a pediatric and adolescent population
- Serum thyroglobulin reference values according to NACB criteria in healthy subjects with normal thyroid ultrasound
- Thyroid volume influences serum calcitonin levels in a thyroid-healthy population: results of a 3-assay, 519 subjects study
- Impact of the reference values on the clinically-relevant cut-offs. The example of cortisol testing in children
- Trimester-specific reference intervals for haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in pregnancy
- The concentration of adiponectin in breast milk is related to maternal hormonal and inflammatory status during 6 months of lactation
- Age- and sex-specific reference limits for creatinine, cystatin C and the estimated glomerular filtration rate
- Determination of the biological variation of S100β and lactate dehydrogenase in disease-free patients with malignant melanoma
- Reference intervals and biological variation for kallikrein 6: influence of age and renal failure
- Faecal haemoglobin concentrations by gender and age: implications for population-based screening for colorectal cancer
- Reference intervals of extended erythrocyte and reticulocyte parameters
- Haematological and iron metabolism parameters in professional cyclists during the Giro d’Italia 3-weeks stage race
- Reference change values for lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive α-fetoprotein and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin in patients with chronic hepatitis C
- Letters to the Editor
- Disadvantages of using biological variation data for reference change values
- Reference change values may need some improvement but are invaluable tools in laboratory medicine
- Insulin-like growth factor 1 reference intervals for a chemiluminescent enzyme immunometric assay (Immulite 2000®) in an adult Mediterranean population
- Reference values for new red blood cell and platelet parameters on the Abbott Diagnostics Cell-Dyn Sapphire
- Congress Abstracts
- Swiss MedLab 2012 Congress of the Swiss Union of Laboratory Medicine (SULM)