Elevated levels of alpha-2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein in CSF of patients with low-grade gliomas.

Little is known about the expression of mitogens and other tumour-related substances in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of glioma patients. The aim of the current study was to determine the presence of aberrant proteins in the CSF of patients with low-grade gliomas. Lumbar puncture was performed in 8 adult patients with supratentorial low-grade gliomas at the time of diagnosis and in 7 controls. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry were used to detect and quantify deviant proteins in the CSF. Two isoforms of alpha(2)-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein (AHSG) were identified and demonstrated in higher levels in patients with low-grade gliomas compared with the control group consisting of patients with mixed neurological diagnoses (p = 0.001 and p = 0.04, respectively). In 1 patient, the level of AHSG was significantly reduced after gross total resection of the tumour. AHSG appears in the present proteome screening as a novel substance in glioma research. This glycoprotein is expressed in the fetal human brain and is believed to be involved in the embryonic development of the neocortex. Further analyses are planned to determine the significance of the increased levels of AHSG in the CSF of patients with low-grade gliomas.