CSF chitinase (Chit-1) and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain levels are both raised in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), tweaking interest in these proteins as potential disease biomarkers,1 2 for example, in selecting patients for clinical trials. Here, Vu et al 3 show that elevated CSF chitinase levels delineate a subset of fast-progressing ALS. However, although these abnormalities are markers of active disease, they do not change over time and, like other potential biomarkers, they are not specific for ALS. Unlike insects, chitin is not a constituent of mammalian neural or other …

中文翻译：

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ALS中的几丁质酶，神经炎症和生物标志物。

患有肌萎缩性侧索硬化症（ALS）的患者的CSF几丁质酶（Chit-1）和磷酸化的神经丝重链水平均升高，从而使人们对这些蛋白质的潜在兴趣成为潜在的疾病生物标志物，例如在选择用于临床试验的患者中1 2。在这里，Vu等人3显示，升高的CSF几丁质酶水平勾勒出快速进展的ALS的子集。但是，尽管这些异常是活动性疾病的标志物，但它们不会随时间变化，并且像其他潜在的生物标志物一样，它们并非对ALS特异。与昆虫不同，几丁质不是哺乳动物神经或其他动物的成分。