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Gene & Protein in Disease

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Exploring serum inflammatory markers and

the acute phase response in glioblastoma
multiforme pre- and post-concurrent

chemoradiation

Sarisha Jagasia, Jason Shephard, Erdal Tasci, Thomas Joyce, Shreya Chappidi,
Theresa Cooley Zgela, Mary Sproull, Megan Mackey, Kevin Camphausen, and
Andra V. Krauze*
Radiation Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda,
Maryland, United States of America

Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor,
characterized by poor overall survival and near-universal recurrence due to rapid
proliferation and treatment resistance. Inflammatory markers (i.e., cytokines
and acute phase reactants [APRs]) have been studied in serum as potential
biomarkers in GBM. However, the lack of serum data collected at multiple time
points, particularly during treatment interventions, has limited the translation
of these findings into clinical applications for monitoring treatment response.
In this study, we analyzed a panel of 29 cultivated serum inflammatory markers
employing serum from 109 individuals with pathology-proven GBM, collected
*Corresponding author: both pre- and post-chemoradiation therapy (CRT). The goal was to determine
Andra V. Krauze
(andra.krauze@nih.gov) the feasibility of measuring these serum markers in patient samples and to
understand the effects of CRT on inflammatory biomarkers and signaling
Citation: Jagasia S, Shephard J, pathways. Among the proteins studied, albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), glial
Tasci E, et al. Exploring serum
inflammatory markers and fibrillary protein (GFAP), kininogen, interleukin (IL)-13, IL-1b, IL-10, Parkinson’s
the acute phase response in disease-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), and tumor necrosis
glioblastoma multiforme pre- and factor-alpha (TNF-α) were the most significantly altered following CRT. Of these,
post-concurrent chemoradiation.
Gene Protein Dis. 2024;3(3):3580. albumin, CRP, GFAP, IL-6, VCAM-1, and TNF-α emerged as the most relevant and
doi: 10.36922/gpd.3580 promising serum biomarkers. Interaction analyses of baseline and post-CRT data
Received: May 6, 2024 identified IL-6 as a potential driver of signal alteration linked to APRs pathways
Accepted: July 10, 2024 and suggested its role as a mediator of tumor microenvironment reprogramming
Published Online: September 10, in conjunction with TNF-α and VCAM-1. The data revealed a balancing act of pro-
2024
apoptotic, anti-proliferative, and pro-viability pathways, with significant impacts
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). on the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and nuclear factor kappa
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the B pathways. Overall, the altered signature of the examined serum biomarkers
Creative Commons Attribution suggests a decrease in the inflammatory response following GBM treatment.
License, permitting distribution, These findings underscore the need for further research, incorporating clinical
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is outcomes and validation in larger datasets, to confirm the clinical applicability
properly cited. of these biomarkers.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Keywords: Serum; Proteomics; Biomarkers; Inflammation; Acute phase response;
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Glioblastoma
affiliations.

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/gpd.3580