Time-Dependent Changes in Serum Level of Protein Biomarkers after Focal Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) range from mild to severe lesions that can be immediately lethal. TBI can be caused by different injury mechanisms [1] such as focal impact, acceleration-deceleration and blast waves. The primary physical impact may lead to focal tissue injury or more dispersed injuries, such as diffuse axonal injury (DAI) but in many clinical cases there is a complex mixture of both focal and diffuse lesions [2]. Furthermore, the primary impact triggers complex secondary injury processes such as neurotransmitter release, excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation that may lead to further tissue impairment [3-5]. This second phase of injury can last and extended period of time that provides a time window for intervention and treatment. Current diagnostic and consequently treatment options are limited. Although imaging techniques have an obvious central role in the clinical assessment after TBI, additional tools such as serum biomarker can provide critical information. Serum biomarkers in TBI have been suggested both for initial triaging as well as a tool for monitoring outcome. In order to better understand timedependent changes during the secondary injury process following penTBI we collected blood samples at an early (1 day) mid (3 days) and a late (14 days) post-injury time points and determined injury induced changes in the serum levels of biomarkers indicative of axonal, neuronal and glia damage and/or loss using reverse phase protein microarray (RPPM).