Expressions of Wingless and Int1 (Wnt)-induced secreted protein 1 in paraquat-poisoned patients

Purpose: To study the expression of Wingless & Int1 (Wnt)-induced secreted protein 1 (WISP1) in paraquat (PQ)-poisoned patients.
Methods: A total of 37 PQ-poisoned patients were enrolled in the study, and divided into non-survivor group (NS) and survival group (S) based on the final therapeutic outcome. Besides, another normal control group (NC) comprised of normal healthy people. Serum PQ concentration was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), while reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to evaluate WISP1 in the serum of PQ poisoned patients.
Results: PQ intake in NS and S groups were 23.58 ± 26.23 and 143.18 ± 263.04 mL, respectively, while serum PQ concentration was 2.07 ± 0.67 and 4.12 ± 1.74 mg/L, respectively. Significant correlation was found between the outcome of patients and serum PQ concentration (OR = 1.434, p < 0.01). Serum PQ concentration was closely correlated with WISP1 gene expression levels (OR = 0.621, p < 0.01) and serum WISP1 protein levels (OR = 0.596, p < 0.01) on the first day after poisoning. Furthermore, a correlation between serum PQ concentration and WISP1 levels was found on the third after poisoning (OR = 0.447, p < 0.01).
Conclusion: WISP1 is over-expressed in PQ-poisoned patients, and serum PQ concentration may be a useful index for the prognosis of PQ poisoned patients.

Keywords
Wingless & Int1 (Wnt)-induced secreted protein 1; Poison; Paraquat; Prognosis; Correlation