Find in Library

Objective To clarify the consistency of the results of the 2 methods for detecting serum biomarkers in patients with acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) in order to screen out biomarkers with clinical value and to establish a biomarker screening process for aGVHD. Methods Sixty patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in our medical center from April 2016 to April 2018 were recruited in this study. Protein chip and ELISA were used to detect the serum cytokine levels in the patients with aGVHD (n=30) and those without (control group, n=30). Results Both detection methods showed that the serum levels of IL-7 and IL-27p were significantly higher (P < 0.05), while the expression level of CD127 was decreased (P < 0.05) in the aGVHD group than the control. The expression level of IL-27 was correlated with the severity of aGVHD (P < 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was between 0.7 and 0.9, with no significant differences between the 2 methods. Conclusion Both protein chip and ELISA have high accuracy and consistency in the detection of serum biomarkers in aGVHD patients. It is possible to establish a high-throughput screening of clinically significant cytokines by protein chip, and then expanding the sample size and repeating the validation by ELISA, which is conducive to clinical development.