Putative Concussion Biomarkers Identified in Adolescent Male Athletes Using Targeted Plasma Proteomics

Sport concussions can be difficult to diagnose and if missed, they can expose athletes to greater injury risk and long-lasting neurological disabilities. Discovery of objective biomarkers to aid concussion diagnosis is critical to protecting athlete brain health. To this end, we performed targeted proteomics on plasma obtained from adolescent athletes suffering a sports concussion. A total of 11 concussed male athletes were enrolled at our academic Sport Medicine Concussion Clinic, as well as 24 sex-, age- and activity-matched healthy control subjects. Clinical evaluation was performed and blood was drawn within 72 h of injury. Proximity extension assays were performed for 1,472 plasma proteins; a total of six proteins were considered significantly different between cohorts (P < 0.01; five proteins decreased and one protein increased). Receiver operating characteristic curves on the six individual protein biomarkers identified had areas-under-the-curves (AUCs) for concussion diagnosis ≥0.78; antioxidant 1 copper chaperone (ATOX1; AUC 0.81, P = 0.003), secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC; AUC 0.81, P = 0.004), cluster of differentiation 34 (CD34; AUC 0.79, P = 0.006), polyglutamine binding protein 1 (PQBP1; AUC 0.78, P = 0.008), insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-like 1 (IGFBPL1; AUC 0.78, P = 0.008) and cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase 3A (NT5C3A; AUC 0.78, P = 0.009). Combining three of the protein biomarkers (ATOX1, SPARC and NT5C3A), produced an AUC of 0.98 for concussion diagnoses (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.00). Despite a paucity of studies on these three identified proteins, the available evidence points to their roles in modulating tissue inflammation and regulating integrity of the cerebral microvasculature. Taken together, our exploratory data suggest that three or less novel proteins, which are amenable to a point-of-care immunoassay, may be future candidate biomarkers for screening adolescent sport concussion. Validation with protein assays is required in larger cohorts.

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Reliability, Validity, and Performance Characteristics of Elite Adolescent Athletes at Different Stages of Maturityin the 10 to 5 Repeated Jump Test

Pediatric Exercise Science ◽

10.1123/pes.2020-0270 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

James Baker ◽

Barry Shillabeer ◽

Christopher Brandner ◽

Philip Graham-Smith ◽

Patrick Mills ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Correlation Coefficient ◽

Intraclass Correlation Coefficient ◽

Intraclass Correlation ◽

Performance Characteristics ◽

Height Velocity ◽

Adolescent Male ◽

Male Athletes ◽

Reliable Test ◽

Jump Test ◽

And Performance

Purpose: To examine the reliability, validity, and performance characteristics of the 10 to 5 repeated jump test (10–5 RJT) in adolescent male athletes. The 10–5 RJT has been shown to be a valid and reliable test of reactive strength index (RSI) in older adolescents (age 17–19 y), but less is known in younger adolescent athletes at different stages of maturity. Methods: Athletes (age 11–17 y) completed the 10–5 RJT on 2 days, 1 week apart, to examine the reliability (n = 41), validity (n = 18) of the test. Athletes were classified as pre, circa, or post peak height velocity (PHV) height velocity using maturity offset to examine the effect of maturation status on RSI, flight time (FT), ground contact time (GCT), and jump height (JH) (n = 68) using a cross-sectional design. Results: Paired samples t tests showed no significant differences (P ≥ .05), and Bland–Altman analysis showed no bias and close limits of agreement for RSI, JH, FT, and GCT between the contact mat and force plate. Interday reliability was rated excellent for RSI (intraclass correlation coefficient = .91) and good for GCT, FT, and JH (intraclass correlation coefficient = .81–.85). All variables had a coefficient of variation ≤ 10%. RSI increased across maturation groups, with significant differences between pre-PHV and post-PHV groups (P = .014, d = 1.00). Conclusion: The 10–5 RJT is a valid and reliable test for adolescent male athletes. Greater RSI with advancing maturity was primarily due to increased FT and JH, with GCT remaining similar.

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Epidermal Fatty Acid-Binding Protein: A Novel Marker in the Diagnosis of Dry Eye Disease in Sjögren Syndrome

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms19113463 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (11) ◽

pp. 3463 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Megumi Shinzawa ◽

Murat Dogru ◽

Seika Den ◽

Takehiro Ichijima ◽

Kazunari Higa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acid ◽

Dry Eye ◽

Fatty Acid Binding Protein ◽

Binding Protein ◽

Sjögren Syndrome ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Sjogren Syndrome ◽

Fatty Acid Binding ◽

Acid Binding Protein ◽

Healthy Control

Purpose: Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the lacrimal and salivary glands. This study compared the concentrations of epidermal fatty-acid binding protein (E-FABP) in the saliva, serum, and tears of SS patients with dry eye and dry mouth, with those of healthy adults to investigate the usefulness of E-FABP as a diagnostic marker for SS. Design: Prospective, observational case series. Participants: The subjects were 11 new patients with untreated Sjogren syndrome and 12 healthy control individuals. Methods: The diagnosis of SS was in accordance with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan) Diagnostic Criteria (1999). Saliva, serum, and tear specimens were collected during internal medicine, dental, and ophthalmological examinations. The ophthalmological tests included the Dry Eye-related Quality of life Score (DEQS), tear break-up time (BUT), vital staining with fluorescein (FS) and lissamine green (LG), and the Schirmer test-1. The E-FABP concentration in the tears, saliva, and serum was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Main outcome measure: The E-FABP concentrations were compared between patients and controls. Results: There were significant differences between the patient and healthy control groups in all ophthalmological test results. There were no significant differences between the groups in the E-FABP concentrations in the saliva (p = 0.1513) or the serum (p = 0.4799), but the E-FABP concentration in the tears significantly differed between groups. The E-FABP concentration in tears tended to be significantly lower in patients with SS (mean, 323.5 ± 325.6 pg/mL) than healthy control subjects (mean, 4076 pg/mL; p = 0.0136). The E-FABP concentration in tears significantly correlated with the results of dry eye parameters. Conclusion: The E-FABP concentration in tears appears to be related to ocular surface epithelial damage and tear stability and may be a promising novel biomarker in the diagnosis of SS.

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Exploring the Relations between Social Support and Social Identity in Adolescent Male Athletes

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport ◽

10.1080/02701367.2020.1737629 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mark W. Bruner ◽

Colin McLaren ◽

Christian Swann ◽

Matthew J. Schweickle ◽

Andrew Miller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Identity ◽

Adolescent Male ◽

Male Athletes

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Chitin binding protein as a possible RNA binding protein in Leishmania parasites

Pathogens and Disease ◽

10.1093/femspd/ftaa007 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 78 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sajad Rashidi ◽

Kurosh Kalantar ◽

Celia Fernandez-Rubio ◽

Enayat Anvari ◽

Paul Nguewa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rna Binding ◽

Binding Protein ◽

Rna Binding Protein ◽

Novel Proteins ◽

Transcriptional Gene Regulation ◽

Chitin Binding Protein ◽

Effective Drugs ◽

Genus Leishmania ◽

Leishmania Parasites

ABSTRACT Leishmaniasis includes a broad spectrum of pathological outcomes in humans caused by protozoan parasites from the genus Leishmania. In recent years, proteomic techniques have introduced novel proteins with critical functions in Leishmania parasites. Based on our report of a Chitin binding protein (CBP) in our previous immunoproteomic study, this article suggests that CBP might be an RNA binding protein (RBP) in Leishmania parasites. RBPs, as key regulatory factors, have a role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. The presence of RBPs in Leishmania parasites has not been considered so far; however, this study aims to open a new venue regarding RBPs in Leishmania parasites. Confirming CBP as an RBP in Leishmania parasites, exploring other RBPs and their functions might lead to interesting issues in leishmaniasis. In fact, due to the regulatory role of RBPs in different diseases including cancers and their further classification as therapeutic targets, the emerging evaluation of CBP and RBPs from Leishmania parasites may allow the discovery of novel and effective drugs against leishmaniasis.

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Multitarget, quantitative nanoplasmonic electrical field-enhanced resonating device (NE2RD) for diagnostics

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1510824112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (32) ◽

pp. E4354-E4363 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Fatih Inci ◽

Chiara Filippini ◽

Murat Baday ◽

Mehmet Ozgun Ozen ◽

Semih Calamak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dynamic Range ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Medical Diagnostics ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Label Free ◽

Protein Biomarkers ◽

Electrical Field ◽

Color Changes ◽

Sensing Platform ◽

Broad Dynamic Range

Recent advances in biosensing technologies present great potential for medical diagnostics, thus improving clinical decisions. However, creating a label-free general sensing platform capable of detecting multiple biotargets in various clinical specimens over a wide dynamic range, without lengthy sample-processing steps, remains a considerable challenge. In practice, these barriers prevent broad applications in clinics and at patients’ homes. Here, we demonstrate the nanoplasmonic electrical field-enhanced resonating device (NE2RD), which addresses all these impediments on a single platform. The NE2RD employs an immunodetection assay to capture biotargets, and precisely measures spectral color changes by their wavelength and extinction intensity shifts in nanoparticles without prior sample labeling or preprocessing. We present through multiple examples, a label-free, quantitative, portable, multitarget platform by rapidly detecting various protein biomarkers, drugs, protein allergens, bacteria, eukaryotic cells, and distinct viruses. The linear dynamic range of NE2RD is five orders of magnitude broader than ELISA, with a sensitivity down to 400 fg/mL This range and sensitivity are achieved by self-assembling gold nanoparticles to generate hot spots on a 3D-oriented substrate for ultrasensitive measurements. We demonstrate that this precise platform handles multiple clinical samples such as whole blood, serum, and saliva without sample preprocessing under diverse conditions of temperature, pH, and ionic strength. The NE2RD’s broad dynamic range, detection limit, and portability integrated with a disposable fluidic chip have broad applications, potentially enabling the transition toward precision medicine at the point-of-care or primary care settings and at patients’ homes.

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Vitamin D and Cortisol as Moderators of the Relationship Between Testosterone and Exercise Performance in Adolescent Male Athletes

Pediatric Exercise Science ◽

10.1123/pes.2019-0229 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 204-209 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Blair Crewther ◽

Christian Cook ◽

John Fitzgerald ◽

Michal Starczewski ◽

Michal Gorski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Effect Size ◽

Exercise Performance ◽

Muscle Power ◽

Ice Hockey ◽

Adolescent Male ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Male Athletes ◽

Complex Interactions ◽

Jump Power

Purpose: Reported associations between vitamin 25(OH)D and exercise performance are equivocal, perhaps due to complex interplay with cortisol and testosterone. In this study, the authors investigated serum 25(OH)D and cortisol as moderators of the testosterone relationship with exercise performance in adolescent male athletes. Methods: A total of 88 ice hockey players were assessed for serum 25(OH)D, cortisol, testosterone, body composition, and exercise performance, based on countermovement jump power and muscle torque. The authors tested independent relationships, before examining complex interactions via moderated regression analyses. Results: Most athletes (62.5%) exhibited a suboptimal (20–30 ng·mL−1) serum 25(OH)D concentration, whereas 9.1% of athletes were deficient (<20 ng·mL−1). Serum 25(OH)D was not related to performance when controlling for testing year, age, and fat mass. Further modeling revealed a significant hormonal interaction. Specifically, in low-25(OH)D subjects, testosterone predicted countermovement jump power at a high (β = 7.10, effect size = .43, P < .01), but not low (β = −3.32, effect size = −.20, P = .09), cortisol concentration. Conclusions: Serum 25(OH)D was a poor predictor of exercise performance, but it did moderate (with cortisol) the testosterone link to muscle power. Notably, this relationship emerged among individuals with a 25(OH)D concentration (∼22 ng·mL−1) approaching the deficiency cutoff. Viewing 25(OH)D as a moderating, rather than dose responsive, variable could help explain equivocal cross-sectional associations.

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Effects of Combined Resistance Training and Weightlifting on Motor Skill Performance of Adolescent Male Athletes

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ◽

10.1519/jsc.0000000000003108 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (12) ◽

pp. 3226-3235 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Andrew W. Pichardo ◽

Jon L. Oliver ◽

Craig B. Harrison ◽

Peter S. Maulder ◽

Rhodri S. Lloyd ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Resistance Training ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Adolescent Male ◽

Male Athletes ◽

Skill Performance

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Power Output In The Jump Squat In Adolescent Male Athletes

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ◽

10.1097/01.jsc.0000367094.65757.8f ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Andrea Dayne ◽

Andrea M Dayne ◽

James L Nuzzo ◽

Jeffrey M McBride ◽

Alan Burr ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Output ◽

Adolescent Male ◽

Male Athletes

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Using Repetitions to Fatigue to Predict One-Repetition Maximum Bench Press in Male High School Athletes

Pediatric Exercise Science ◽

10.1123/pes.16.3.265 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 265-276 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

J. L. Mayhew ◽

Chad D. Kerksick ◽

Doug Lentz ◽

John S. Ware ◽

David L. Mayhew

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Bench Press ◽

Adolescent Male ◽

High School Athletes ◽

Male Athletes ◽

Repetition Maximum ◽

Male High School ◽

Press Performance ◽

New Equation ◽

High School Athletic

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of repetitions to fatigue (RTF) for estimating one-repetition maximum (1-RM) bench press performance in male high school athletes. Members of high school athletic teams (N = 213, age = 16.3 ± 1.1 yrs, weight = 79.9 ± 16.7 kg) from four states were tested for 1-RM bench press and RTF after completing 4–6 weeks of resistance training. A new equation for use with male high school athletes was developed from a random sample of 180 participants; it appears to have excellent predictive potential (r = 0.96, SEE = 4.5 kg) and cross-validated well on a subsample (n = 33) from this population (r = 0.98, t = 0.64). Therefore, RTF can be used with acceptable accuracy to estimate maximal strength in the majority of adolescent male athletes who need to handle excessively heavy weights.

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