Wen-Hai Chou 
	
                                                                                                            Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, 
Tanzania                                    	
                                    
 Research Article
                                                                        Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin and Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 as
Potential Biomarkers for Stroke: A Pilot Study                                     
Author(s): Yi-Chinn Weng and Wen-Hai ChouYi-Chinn Weng and Wen-Hai Chou             
                                    
                                                                        
                             Recent evidence suggests that neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is acutely induced after
ischemic stroke. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) has been associated with hemorrhagic transformation possibly
by promoting the degradation of extracellular matrix of cerebral blood vessels. NGAL forms heterodimer with MMP-9
and stabilizes the enzymatic activities of MMP-9 by protecting it from degradation. In the present study, we
determined the concentrations of NGAL, MMP-9 and the heterodimeric complex in the sera of patients with ischemic
and hemorrhagic stroke as well as healthy subjects by Western blotting, affinity purification, and ELISA. Our results
show that the serum levels of NGAL, MMP-9, and NGAL-MMP-9 complex in hemorrhagic stroke patients were
significantly higher than the ischemic stroke and control subjects. The da.. View More»