Comparison of plasma fatty acid binding protein 4 concentration in venous and capillary blood.

Shigeharu Numao,Naomi Goromaru,Yoshinori Nagasawa,Shunichi Tamaki,Simeon-Pierre Choukem

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226374

Abstract

Circulating fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) is associated with various diseases and simple and less invasive techniques for assessment of FABP4 concentration are required in clinical research setting. The purpose of the present study was to assess the correlation of plasma FABP4 concentration between venous and capillary blood in healthy young adults. Twenty-eight healthy young adults aged from 20 to 26 years (mean age, 22.2 ± 1.4 years, 14 males and 14 females) were included. Paired resting blood samples were taken from the cubital vein (venous) and fingertip (capillary) blood. Plasma FABP4 concentration in both blood was analyzed by enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay. Plasma FABP4 concentration did not differ significantly between venous and capillary blood (−0.11± 0.75 ng/mL, p = 0.447, 95%CI: -0.402–0.182). Pearson’s correlation coefficient for plasma FABP4 concentration between venous and capillary blood samples suggests strong correlation (r = 0.961, p < 0.001). The Bland & Altman plot showed a non-significant bias (−0.11 ± 0.75 ng/mL, p = 0.684) and the 95% limits of agreement ranged from −1.59 to 1.37 ng/mL. FABP4 concentration in both venous and capillary blood was significantly higher in females than in males (venous blood: p = 0.041; capillary blood: p = 0.049). These results suggest that capillary blood sampling can detect gender difference and is useful for the assessment of FABP4 concentration.

Highlights

Fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) are a family of 14–15 kDa cytosolic lipid chaperones that regulate lipid trafficking and response in cells [1]
Our data demonstrate that plasma fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) concentration in capillary blood was almost identical to that in venous blood
Plasma FABP4 concentration in both venous and capillary blood showed higher values in females than in males. These findings suggest that capillary blood samples can detect a gender difference in circulating FABP4 concentration and are fully interchangeable with venous samples for assessing circulating FABP4 concentration

Summary

Introduction

Fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) are a family of 14–15 kDa cytosolic lipid chaperones that regulate lipid trafficking and response in cells [1]. Circulating fatty acid binding protein 4 concentration in venous and capillary blood hypertension [9, 11], dyslipidemia [9, 12], cardiovascular diseases [13,14], and cancer [15]. A simpler method of blood collection is preferred in clinical research settings, since venous blood sampling is relatively invasive, requires a trained phlebotomist, generates biological waste, creates participant discomfort, and interrupts physical activity [17, 18]. Capillary blood sampling from the fingertip has been used as a simplified method to obtain a blood sample It is considered minimally invasive and can avoid excessively restricting activities and reduce the discomfort of participants. Depending on the blood component, circulating concentrations can greatly differ between venous and capillary blood [19, 20, 21]; it is important to study whether FABP4 concentration is the same when using capillary blood as an alternative blood sampling method

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Conclusion