We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo
ADLM 2025
Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Mast Cell Biomarker Predicts Severity of Dengue

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 13 May 2013
A protein produced by mast cells in the immune system may predict which people infected with dengue virus will develop life-threatening complications.

Dengue virus (DENV) spread by mosquitoes, infects as many as 390 million people worldwide each year, and is a significant health issue in tropical areas of the world including parts of Latin America and Asia, and health professionals in Florida have reported cases in recent years.

Image: Human mast cells (Photo courtesy of Madeleine Rådinger).
Image: Human mast cells (Photo courtesy of Madeleine Rådinger).

Scientists at Duke University (Durham, NC, USA) working with their colleagues at Duke-National University of Singapore investigated the role of mast cells in attacking dengue virus in humans, and identified a biomarker derived from the mast cells, that appeared to predict the most severe cases of the disease in human patients.

Samples used for the investigation were derived from patients that ranged in age from 18 to 77 years, with a mean of 40 years; 42% of samples were obtained from females, and 58% from males. Dengue positive samples were determined based on physician diagnosis as well as molecular tests including reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for viral ribonucleic acid (RNA).

The dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) patient sera used in this study were previously determined to be positive for serotypes 1, 2, or 3 by RT-PCR using the OneStep RT-PCR Kit (Qiagen; Valencia, CA, USA). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits for the human mast cell biomarker chymase, a serine protease, were obtained from Antibodies-Online (Atlanta, GA, USA).

Patients that were diagnosed with DF or DHF showed chymase levels in serum obtained during the acute phase of infection were significantly higher than levels in the serum of either healthy controls or individuals with fever that were DENV negative by RT-PCR. DF patients displayed an increase in serum chymase that was approximately 10 times higher than in healthy individuals or DENV-negative patients while, in DHF patients, chymase levels 30 times higher than healthy controls were detected.

Soman N. Abraham, PhD, a professor at Duke University and the senior author of the study, said,” In addition to revealing a potential new way to diagnose and treat dengue infections, these finding may have much broader applicability for other infectious diseases where vascular leakage is a major pathologic outcome.” The study was published on April 30, 2013, in the journal eLife.

Related Links:
Duke University
Duke-National University of Singapore
Antibodies-Online



Gold Member
Flocked Fiber Swabs
Puritan® Patented HydraFlock®
3-Part Differential Hematology Analyzer
Swelab Alfa Plus Sampler
New
Rapid Molecular Testing Device
FlashDetect Flash10
New
Sperm Quality Analyis Kit
QwikCheck Beads Precision and Linearity Kit

Latest Microbiology News

New Platform Leverages AI and Quantum Computing to Predict Salmonella Antimicrobial Resistance
13 May 2013  |   Microbiology

Early Detection of Gut Microbiota Metabolite Linked to Atherosclerosis Could Revolutionize Diagnosis
13 May 2013  |   Microbiology

Viral Load Tests Can Help Predict Mpox Severity
13 May 2013  |   Microbiology



PURITAN MEDICAL