Tumor markers and diagnostic kits with improved sensitivity or specificity are being discovered and/or developed. As a leading service provider known for antibody discovery, Creative Biolabs has launched our high-quality in vitro diagnostic (IVD) antibody and immunoassay development services targeting different disease biomarkers, including both established and newly discovered biomarkers. Here, we introduce the potential of midkine as a biomarker for cancer diagnosis.
Midkine, a heparin-binding growth factor, was originally identified as the product of a retinoic acid-responsive gene expressed during embryogenesis. The human midkine gene is located on chromosome 11q11 and encodes a 13-kDa protein-rich in basic amino acids and cysteine. It is a developmentally important retinoic acid-responsive gene product strongly induced during mid-gestation, hence the name midkine. The expression of midkine in human adult tissues is extremely low and restricted. In recent years, a large number of studies have shown that the expression of midkine is significantly elevated in many early stages of human cancers tissue, such as breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancers, and so on, compared with normal tissues. Midkine seems to play a crucial role in tumor development and progression. It promotes tumor progression by regulating cell proliferation, cell motility, cell survival, angiogenesis, and transformation of fibroblasts.
Today, the potential diagnostic value of midkine in early detection of cancer has been reported in a variety of tumors, such as the duodenum, colon, pancreas, lung, esophageal, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). For instance, Shaheen et al. (2015) measured serum midkine levels in patients diagnosed with HCC, liver cirrhosis, and healthy controls using ELISA. They found that serum midkine was significantly elevated in the HCC group compared to the other two groups and that the sensitivity of midkine for HCC diagnosis was significantly higher than that of the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) biomarker. Wu et al. (2015) reported midkine could be an effective biomarker in diagnosis and therapy of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), especially for drug selection at the time of initial diagnosis. Kemper et al. (2020) evaluated the preoperative serum midkine level in 299 patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC) and found that serum midkine helped estimate the prognosis for CRC and was a valuable component for developing a multimarker panel for screening and surveillance.
Aided by our advanced IVD platform, Creative Biolabs can generate antibodies with high affinity and specificity that are specific to diagnostic targets, such as midkine. Besides, we also provide services to biotech companies and academic researchers to meet their needs in developing diagnostic immunoassays of various formats, including lateral flow assay, ELISA, latex-based assays, etc. With the successful completion of numerous projects, Creative Biolabs is confident in providing services and products of the best quality. For more detailed information about what we offer for each stage of the development process, please click the links below:
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References
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