What does human epitesticular protein 4 mean?

Human epididymis protein 4 is a tumor marker that can be used to diagnose ovarian tumors or endometrial cancer, etc. It has high clinical value and requires patients to learn the main endometrial cancer examination methods. Patients with human epididymis protein 4 are generally in the early stages of cancer and can be cured in the early stages. Patients can be treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Everyone can understand the clinical significance of human epididymis protein 4.

Definition of human epitesticular protein 4

HE4, known as human testicular secretory protein 4, is a new type of tumor marker and is another highly recognized epithelial ovarian cancer tumor marker after CA125. HE4 is not expressed in the normal ovarian surface epithelium, but is significantly highly expressed in serous ovarian cancer and endometrioid ovarian cancer. HE4 combined with CA125 has a high clinical value in the early diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer, disease monitoring, postoperative recurrence monitoring, and differential diagnosis of benign tumors. HE4 also has a certain sensitivity in the diagnosis of endometrial cancer.

Normal range of human epitesticular protein 4

The normal reference range of human epitesticular protein 4 is 0 to 90pmol/L. Human epitesticular protein 4 is a sensitive indicator for detecting ovarian cancer and is one of the tumor markers. Compared with the carbohydrate antigen CA125, it is less affected by external factors. CA125 is generally affected by inflammation, endometriosis, pregnancy and many other factors, which will cause an increase, while human epitesticular protein 4 is generally not affected by these factors. The combined detection of human epitesticular protein 4 and CA125 is more meaningful for the detection of ovarian cancer.

Learn about HE4's past lives

HE4, also known as human epididymal protein 4 in Chinese, was first discovered in the epithelial cells at the distal end of the human epididymis. It consists of two core structures: a natural N-terminal glycosylated protein of about 25KDa and two whey acidic protein core regions (WAP, consisting of 4 disulfide core regions and 8 cysteine ​​residues).

The gene encoding HE4 has multiple homologous brothers, which also encode WAP core protein. SLPI and Elafin proteins are the two best studied proteins. Both proteins have protease inhibition and anti-inflammatory properties, which are related to the host's resistance to bacterial infection. Based on the "brothers are similar", people initially believed that their brother protein HE4 has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. Because it was found in human epididymal epithelial cells, it was speculated that HE4 may be a protein inhibitory enzyme related to reproductive development (spermatogenesis). With the discovery of subsequent studies, the true identity of HE4 began to emerge.