Clusterin Plasma Concentrations Are Decreased in Sepsis and Inversely Correlated with Established Markers of Inflammation
Eray Yagmur,
Samira Abu Jhaisha,
Lukas Buendgens,
Nadezhda Sapundzhieva,
Jonathan F. Brozat,
Philipp Hohlstein,
Maike R. Pollmanns,
Ger H. Koek,
Ralf Weiskirchen,
Christian Trautwein,
Frank Tacke,
Theresa H. Wirtz,
Alexander Koch
Affiliations
Eray Yagmur
Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Western Palatinate Hospital, 67655 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Samira Abu Jhaisha
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Lukas Buendgens
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Nadezhda Sapundzhieva
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Jonathan F. Brozat
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Philipp Hohlstein
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Maike R. Pollmanns
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Ger H. Koek
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands
Ralf Weiskirchen
Institute of Molecular Pathobiochemistry, Experimental Gene Therapy and Clinical Chemistry (IFMPEGKC), RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Christian Trautwein
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Frank Tacke
Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum und Campus Charité Mitte, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Theresa H. Wirtz
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Alexander Koch
Department of Medicine III, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Clusterin is a multifunctional protein that is recognized to mediate cellular stress response associated with organ failure, systemic inflammation, and metabolic alterations. The aim of this study was to determine the value of clusterin as a clinical biomarker in critical ill patients with or without sepsis. We analyzed clusterin plasma concentrations in 200 critically ill patients (133 with sepsis, 67 without sepsis) on admission to the medical intensive care unit (ICU). The results were compared with 66 healthy controls. Clusterin plasma concentration was significantly elevated in critically ill patients compared to healthy subjects. Clusterin levels were significantly higher in non-septic ICU patients than in patients with sepsis. Clusterin correlated inversely with routinely used biomarkers of inflammatory response. Furthermore, clusterin levels were higher in ICU patients with pre-existing obesity and type 2 diabetes. Clusterin was not associated with disease severity, organ failure, or mortality in the ICU. This study highlights significantly elevated clusterin levels in critically ill patients, predominantly in non-sepsis conditions, and associates circulating clusterin to inflammatory and metabolic dysfunctions.
