Abstract
BackgroundTenascin-C (TN-C) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein related to tissue inflammation. Our previous retrospective study conducted in 2016 revealed that the serum tenascin-C level was higher in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) who were resistant to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and developed coronary artery lesions (CALs). The present study is a prospective cohort study to assess if the serum level of tenascin-C could be used as a novel biomarker to predict the risk of resistance to initial treatment for high-risk patients.MethodsA total of 380 KD patients were registered and provided serum samples for tenascin-C measurement before commencing their initial treatment. Patients who did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded from analysis; of the 181 remaining subjects, there were 144 low-risk patients (Kobayashi score: ≤4 points) and 37 high-risk patients (Kobayashi score: ≥5 points). The initial treatments for low-risk patients and high-risk patients were conventional therapy (IVIG with aspirin) and prednisolone combination therapy, respectively. The patient clinical and laboratory data, including the serum tenascin-C level, were compared between initial treatment responders and non-responders.ResultsIn the low-risk patients, there was no significant difference in the median levels of serum tenascin-C between the initial therapy responders and non-responders. However, in the high-risk patients, the median serum tenascin-C level in initial therapy non-responders was significantly higher than that in initial therapy responders (175.8 ng/ml vs 117.6 ng/ml).ConclusionsSerum tenascin-C could be a biomarker for predicting the risk of high-risk patients being non-responsive to steroid combination therapy.Trial registrationThis study was a prospective cohort study. It was approved by the ethics committee of each institute and performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Highlights
Tenascin-C (TN-C) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein related to tissue inflammation
27 (73.0%) patients responded to the intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG)+steroid and did not require a second-line therapy, while 10 patients did not respond to the IVIG+steroid and did require a second-line therapy
This finding is consistent with the results of our previous retrospective study; together, these results suggest that the serum TN-C level alone could be a biomarker for identifying high-risk patients, comparable with the Kobayashi score [8]
Summary
Tenascin-C (TN-C) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein related to tissue inflammation. Our previous retrospective study conducted in 2016 revealed that the serum tenascin-C level was higher in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) who were resistant to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and developed coronary artery lesions (CALs). The present study is a prospective cohort study to assess if the serum level of tenascin-C could be used as a novel biomarker to predict the risk of resistance to initial treatment for high-risk patients. Treatment with a high dose of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is the most effective evidence-based therapy for the acute phase of KD, and it significantly reduces the rate of CALs [2, 3]. The Kobayashi scoring system predicts patients at high risk of IVIG resistance with 76% sensitivity and 80% specificity among Japanese individuals, so it is widely used in Japan [8]. Efforts are ongoing to find a simple biomarker with which to stratify patients with KD [18, 19]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
