Increased serum YKL-40 levels in children with sickle cell disease

Akbey,Veysi | Ünal,Selma | Tezol, Özlem | Bahar Taşdelen | Karahan,Feryal

Background: YKL-40 is a glycoprotein secreted by various cell lines during inflammation and vascular dysfunction. Sickle cell disease (SCD) also involves inflammation and endothelial dysfunction processes. Thus, we aimed to assess the levels of YKL-40 in pediatric SCD patients. Methods: We evaluated serum levels of YKL-40 in children with steady state SCD and those with vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) episodes and compared them with healthy subjects. Results: Overall, 33 children with SCD and 33 healthy controls participated in this study. Serum YKL-40 concentrations of children with steady state SCD were significantly higher than the concentrations found in the healthy controls (median [Q1-Q3]: 71.0 [53.3-133.3] vs. 43.6 [37.9-69.9] ng/mL, p=0.001). Seventeen of the 33 children with SCD...