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ABSTRACT
YKL-40 is a plasma protein, belonging to the chitinase protein family, but has no chitinase activity. It is expressed and secreted by macrophages, chondrocytes, activated neutrophils, differentiated monocytes, vascular smooth muscle cell and cancer cells. The objective of the present study was to determine serum YKL-40 levels in healthy subjects and to develop a valid reproducible enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum YKL-40 concentrations were determined by a two-site, sandwich-type, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 10 healthy female volunteers aged 18–50. Our investigation show a mean value 41,11 (20–59) ng/ml of serum YKL-40 in healthy women. We determined that the correlation between protein level and age is feeble, but positive. Our study is the first in Bulgaria to measure serum YKL-40 level in healthy subjects. Elucidation of YKL-40 functions in normal and pathologic processes is an important objective offuture analyses.