KLK8: charting new territories in left ventricular hypertrophy biomarker research

This study investigates the diagnostic potential of serum Kallikrein-related peptidase 8 (KLK8) in detecting left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).
A total of 62 hypertensive patients with LVH, 60 without LVH, and 60 healthy controls were analyzed. LVH was defined by echocardiography using LVMI thresholds (>95 g/m2 for females, >115 g/m2 for males). Serum KLK8 levels were measured via ELISA, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis assessed its diagnostic performance.
KLK8 levels were significantly higher in hypertensive patients with LVH (8.59 ± 1.59 ng/mL) than in those without LVH (5.80 ± 1.35 ng/mL) and healthy controls (3.68 ± 0.82 ng/mL). KLK8 positively correlated with blood pressure and cardiac structural parameters, including IVST, LVPWT, and LVEDD. ROC analysis revealed high sensitivity and specificity, indicating KLK8’s potential as a biomarker for early LVH detection in hypertension.
In hypertensive patients, KLK8 demonstrates good diagnostic value in predicting LVH.