Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Neuron specific enolase (NSE) and thymidine kinase (TK) as markers in biological fluids of brain tumor patients

  • Original Articles
  • Published:
The Italian Journal of Neurological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We studied the activity of two enzymes NSE and TK in the biological fluids of 104 patients with nervous system diseases, who fell into 4 groups. 20 subjects out of 35 in the tumor group had glial tumors. We fixed a cut-off value of NSE and TK activity at the 95th percentile of the control group, both in serum and in CSF. The aim of our investigation was to assess the reliability of TK and NSE assays in separating brain tumors from other neurological diseases. In our patients, most of the TK activity above the cut-off value was found in the tumor group. Serum TK seems to be a useful marker for following up cerebral tumors after surgery, but NSE is less useful for this purpose.

Sommario

Abbiamo studiato l'attività di due enzimi NSE e TK nei liquidi biologici di 104 Pazienti affetti da patologie del sistema nervoso. I Pazienti sono stati divisi in quattro gruppi: dei 35 Pazienti affetti da neoplasie 20 erano portatori di un tumore della serie gliale.

Su liquor e su siero il valore cut-off dell'attività di NSE e TK è stato fissato al 95o percentile del gruppo controllo. Lo scopo del nostro studio è stato quello di stabilire la affidabilità del dosaggio della NSE e della TK nel separare i tumori cerebrali da altre patologie d'interesse neurologico. Nei nostri Pazienti la maggiore attività enzimatica al di sopra del valore cut-off è stata riscontrata nel gruppo tumorale.

I livelli serici di TK sembrano essere un utile marker per la valutazione del follow-up post-chirurgico dei Pazienti affetti da tumore gliale, mentre la valutazione dei valori della NSE non sembra utile a tale scopo.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bombardieri E., Cocciolo M., Seregni E., Pizzorno B.:Valutazione dell'aggressività biologica della neoplasia mediante la misura della attività Timidina-chinasica nel siero. Argomenti di Oncologia 8:37–45, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Dhillon A.P., Rode J., Leathman A.:Neuronspecific enolase: an aid to diagnosis of melanoma and neuroblastoma. Histopathology 6:81–92, 1982.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ellims P.H., Gan T.E., Van Der Weyden M.B.:Fetal Tymidine kinase (TK1) in hairy cell leukemia. Scan. J. Hematol, 30:141–145, 1983.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gronowitz J.S., Kallander C.F.R., Hagberg H., Persson L.:Deoxithimidine Kinase in cerebrospinal fluid: a new potential marker for brain tumors. Acta Neurochir. 73, 1–12, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Gronowitz J.S., Kallander C.F.R.:Optimized assay for thymidine kinase and its application for detection of antibodies against kinase. Infect. Immunol., 29, 425–434, 1980.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hagberg H., Gronowitz J.S., Kallander A., Kallander C.F.R.:Serum Thymidine kinase in vitamin B12 deficienty. Scand. J. Haematol., 32:41–45, 1984.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Ishiguro Y., Kato K., Shimizu A., Ito, T., Nagaya M.:High levels of immunoreactivye nervous system specific enolase in serta of patients with neuroblastoma. Clin. Chim. Acta, 121:173–180, 1982.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Jonhson D., Maragons P.Y., Forbers J.T., Greco F.A.:Potential utility of serum neurospecific enolase levels in small-cells carcinoma of the lung. Cancer Res., 44:5409–5414, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kallander C.F.R., Gronowitz J.S., Olding-Stenkvist E.:Rapid diagnosis of varicella zoster virus infection by detection of viral deoxythymidin kinase in serum and visceral fluid. J. Clin. Microbiol, 17:280–287, 1983.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Kallander C.F.R., Simonsson B., Gronowitz J.S.:Serum deoxythymidine kinase gives prognostic information in chronic lymphochytic leukemia. Cancer, 54:2450–2455, 1984.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Karney D., Maragons P., Ihide D., Bunn P., Cohen M., Minn D., Gazdar A.:Serum neuronspecific enolase: a marker for disease extent and response to therapy of small-cells lung cancer. Lancet, 1:583–585, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Mokuno K., Kato K., Matsoula Y., Yanagi T., Soube I.:Neurospecific enolase and S100 protein levels in CSF of patients with various neurological diseases. J. Neurol. Sci. 60:443–451, 1983.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Odelstad L., Pohlman S., Nilsson K.:Neuronspecific enolase in relation to differentiation in human neuroblastoma. Brain Res. 224:69–82, 1981.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Persson L., Boethius J., Gronowitz J.S., Kallander C., Lindegren I.:Thimidine Kinase in brain tumor cysts. J. Neurosurg. 63:568–572, 1985.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Persson L., Gronowitz S.J., Kallander C.F.R.:Thymidine kinase in extracts of human brain tumors. Acta Neurochir. 80:123–127, 1986.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Pharmacia Diagnostics AB:Pharmacia NSE RIA, Radioimmunoassay, 1988.

  17. Royds J.A., Davies-Jones B., Lewtas N.A., Timperley W.R., Taylor B.C.:Enolase isoenzymes in the CFS of patients with diseases of the nervous system. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 46:1031–1036, 2983.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Royds J.A., Ironside J.W., Taylor B.C., Graham D.I., Timperley W.R.:An immunohistochemical study of glial and neuronal markers in primary neoplasms of the central nervous system. Acta Neuropathol. (Berl.) 70:320–326, 1986.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Royds J.A., Timperley R.W., Taylor C.:Levels of enolase and other enzymes in cerebrospinal fluid as incides of pathological change. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psichiatry 44:1129–1135, 1981.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Sangtec Medical:Prolifigen TK-REA radioenzyme assay for thimidine kinase, 1988.

  21. Schmechel D., Marangos P., Brightam M.:Neuron-specific enolase is a molecular marker for peripheral and central neorendocrine cells. Nature 276:834–836, 1978.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Tapia F.J., Polak M.J., Barbose A.J., Bloom B.S., Marangos P.J., Dermody C., Peraser A.G.E.:Neuron-specific enolase is produced by neuroendocrine tumors. Lancet i:808–811, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Vinores S.A., Bonnin J.M., Rubistein J. andMarangos P.J.:Himmunohistochemical demonstration of neuro-specific enolase in neoplasm of CNS and other tissue. Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. 108:536–540, 1984.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Vinores S.A., Herman M., Rubistein L.:Electron immunocytochemical localisation of neuronspecific enolase cytoplasm and on membranes of primary and metastatic cerebral tumors and on glial filaments of glioma cells. Histopathology 10:891–908, 1986.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Vinores S.A., Marangos I.J., Bonnin M., Rubistein L.J.:Immunoradiometric and immunohistochemical demonstration of neuron specific enolase in experimental rat gliomas. Cancer Res. 44:2595–2599, 1984.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Vinores S.A., Rubistein L.J.:Simultaneous expression of glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) by the same reactive and neoplastic astroctyes. Neuropathol. Appl. Neurobiol. 11:349–359, 1985.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Zelter P.M., Marangos P.L., Parme A.M., Sorther A., Dalton A., Hammon D., Siegel S., Seegar R.:Raised neuron-specific enolase in serum of children with metastatic neuroblastoma. Lancet 11:361–363, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Zhang H.J., Kennedy B.J., Kiang D.T.:Tymidine kinase as a predictor of response to chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res. Treat. 4:221–225, 184.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milano

    Bombardieri E.

  2. Istituto Nazionale Neurologico “C. Besta”, Via Celoria, 11-20133, Milano

    Boiardi A., Munari L., Silvani A. & Solero C. L.

Authors
  1. Boiardi A.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Munari L.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Silvani A.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Solero C. L.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bombardieri E.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Boiardi, A., Munari, L., Silvani, A. et al. Neuron specific enolase (NSE) and thymidine kinase (TK) as markers in biological fluids of brain tumor patients. Ital J Neuro Sci 11, 359–366 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02335938

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02335938

Key-Words

Search

Navigation