Kallikrein 6 as a Serum Prognostic Marker in Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a devastating condition that frequently causes death or significant disabilities. Blood tests to predict possible early complications could be very useful aids for therapy. The aim of this study was to analyze serum levels of kallikrein 6 (KLK6) in individuals with aSAH to determine the relevance of this protease with the outcome of these patients. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A reference interval for KLK6 was established by using serum samples (n = 136) from an adult population. Additionally, serum samples (n = 326) from patients with aSAH (n = 13) were collected for 5 to 14 days, to study the concentration of KLK6 in this disease. The correlation between KLK6 and S100B, an existing brain damage biomarker, was analyzed in 8 of 13 patients. The reference interval for KLK6 was established to be 1.04 to 3.93 ng/mL. The mean levels in patients with aSAH within the first 56 hours ranged from 0.27 to 1.44 ng/mL, with lowest levels found in patients with worse outcome. There were significant differences between patients with good recovery or moderate disability (n = 8) and patients with severe disability or death (n = 5) (mean values of 1.03 ng/mL versus 0.47 ng/mL, respectively) (p<0.01). There was no significant correlation between KLK6 and S100B. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Decreased serum concentrations of KLK6 are found in patients with aSAH, with the lowest levels in patients who died.