INTRODUCTION: Chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) is a glycoprotein implicated in various neurological conditions. It is associated with neuroinflammation and tissue remodeling. The study aimed to validate the reference interval (RI) of serum (S) CHI3L1 in a control group, to correlate S CHI3L1 values with other biomarkers of neurodegenerative damage, and to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of S CHI3L1. METHODS: Samples from 108 healthy volunteers were used to estimate the S CHI3L1 RI. For the comparison, we used cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum (S) samples from 121 patients with cognitive disorders, and cognitive deterioration was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). ELISA assays were used to determine the S CHI3L1, CSF, and S neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels; CSF and plasma β-amyloid peptide42; CSF and plasma β-amyloid peptide40; CSF total tau protein; CSF phosphorylated tau protein; and CSF alpha-synuclein. RESULTS: The estimated RI of S CHI3L1 was 14.44 to 63.11 µg/L. The cut-off value of S CHI3L1 was 34.37 µg/L. ROC analysis showed that S CHI3L1 has 81.4% sensitivity and 76.9% specificity. We found a moderate Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between the S CHI3L1 and age (rS = 0.486; p < 0.001) and between S CHI3L1 and S NfL (rS = 0.489; p < 0.001) in all groups. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant overall difference in S CHI3L1 among diagnostic groups (p = 0.013). S CHI3L1 and CSF NfL had statistically significant effects on MMSE values (multiple R2 was 0.431). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that S CHI3L1 reflects the severity of cognitive deficits assessed by MMSE. It can be used as a supportive biomarker in neurodegenerative diseases.

Department of Clinical Neurosciences University of Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

Department of Neurology University Hospital Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

Department of the Deputy Director for Science Research and Education University Hospital Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department of Applied Mathematics VSB Technical University of Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

Institute of Laboratory Medicine Department of Clinical Biochemistry University Hospital Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

Institute of Laboratory Medicine University of Ostrava Ostrava Czech Republic

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