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Brain & Heart                                                               Cerebral ischemia biomarkers



            some intriguing findings have been reported.  Tau protein   validate their clinical utility and explore their mechanisms
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            levels have been shown to be increased in the CSF of   of action is essential for their successful integration into
            patients after severe traumatic brain injury, which is also   routine clinical practice. FOXF2 and ATP5H hold promise
            associated with vascular insults. This observation suggests   for improving the diagnosis, prognosis, and management
            that tau may serve as a potential biomarker for vascular   of patients with cerebral ischemia and may contribute to
            brain injury, including cerebral ischemia.         better treatment outcomes in the future.
              Further evidence for the role of tau in cerebral   FOXF2 (forkhead box F2) is a transcription factor that
            ischemia is provided by elevated tau levels in post-stroke   plays a crucial role in neuronal development and vascular
            patients, with higher levels being associated with poorer   homeostasis. Emerging evidence suggests that it is involved in
            cognitive performance.  In addition, increased levels of   multiple aspects of cerebral ischemia, including angiogenesis,
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            tau phosphorylation have been reported in ischemic brain   neuroprotection, and  inflammation  regulation.  FOXF2
            tissue, indicating the activation of tau pathology in this   expression is upregulated in cerebral ischemia and has been
            condition. 42                                      associated with improved clinical outcomes in several studies.
                                                               For instance, a recent study found that increased  FOXF2
              Emerging evidence suggests that Aβ, tau, and phospho-  expression in animal models of cerebral ischemia correlated
            tau may serve as valuable biomarkers in cerebral ischemia.   significantly with reduced  infarct  size  and  improved
            However, further research is essential to fully understand   neurological function.  Furthermore, increased expression
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            their role in disease progression, diagnosis, and prognosis.   of FOXF2 was associated with enhanced angiogenesis and
            The interplay between these protein abnormalities and   reduced brain edema. These results suggest that FOXF2 may
            other pathological features of cerebral ischemia remains   serve as a potential biomarker for predicting the severity and
            an active area of research. Future studies should focus on   prognosis of cerebral ischemia.
            elucidating the molecular mechanisms linking Aβ, tau,
            and phospho-tau to cerebral ischemia, which will lead to   ATP5H  is a subunit of  ATP synthase, a key enzyme
            the development of novel therapeutic interventions for   responsible for ATP production in the mitochondria. Due to
            stroke patients.                                   its involvement in cellular energy metabolism and cerebral
                                                               homeostasis, its encoding gene has recently emerged as a
            5. Genetic biomarkers in cerebral ischemia         potential biomarker for cerebral ischemia. Several studies
                                                               have demonstrated altered ATP5H expression in ischemic
            Genetic biomarkers have emerged as promising tools for   brain tissue. For example, ATP5H has been found to be
            predicting, diagnosing, and monitoring cerebral ischemia.
                                                               downregulated in cerebral ischemia models, indicating
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            5.1. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms as            impaired mitochondrial function.  This dysregulation of
            biomarkers in cerebral ischemia                    ATP5H could contribute to the energy depletion observed
                                                               in  ischemic  brain  tissue.  The  potential  diagnostic  utility
            Several studies have implicated SNPs in genes related   of  ATP5H as a biomarker in cerebral ischemia requires
            to vascular function, inflammation, and coagulation in   further investigation.
            the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia. For example, the
            rs1801133 SNP in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase   The diagnostic and prognostic significance of FOXF2
            (MTHFR) gene has been associated with an increased risk   and  ATP5H in cerebral ischemia is gaining increasing
            of cerebral ischemia.  Similarly, the rs1800795 SNP in the   attention. The identification of these biomarkers enables
                            8
            interleukin-6 (IL6) gene has been linked to both ischemic   early detection and risk stratification in patients at high
            stroke susceptibility and outcome.  Certain genetic   risk of stroke. In addition, monitoring the expression of
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            variants, such as factor V Leiden,  MTHFR C677T, and   these biomarkers during treatment can provide valuable
            angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion   insights into the response to treatment and help to
            polymorphisms, have also been associated with increased   adjust therapeutic strategies accordingly. Several studies
            susceptibility to cerebral ischemia. 44            have highlighted the potential of  FOXF2 and  ATP5H as
                                                               therapeutic targets in cerebral ischemia. For instance,
            5.2. FOXF2 and ATP5H as biomarkers in cerebral     pharmacological interventions targeting  FOXF2 have
            ischemia                                           shown neuroprotective effects in animal models.
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            In recent years, the transcription factor gene FOXF2 and   Similarly, strategies aimed at restoring ATP5H expression
            the ATP synthase subunit gene ATP5H have emerged as   or function may have therapeutic potential to alleviate
            promising biomarkers for cerebral ischemia, providing   cerebral ischemic injury.
            valuable insights into the pathophysiological processes   Although  FOXF2 and  ATP5H show promising
            and potential therapeutic targets. Further research to   potential as  biomarkers of cerebral  ischemia, several


            Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024)                         7                                doi: 10.36922/bh.2750
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