Time-Course Changes of Serum Keratin Concentrations after Liver Transplantation: Contrasting Results of Keratin-18 and Keratin-19 Fragments

Figure 1

Schematic representation of K18 cleavage during apoptosis and the epitopes recognized by the assays for K18 fragments employed in the present study. The TPS assay can detect soluble full-length K18 as well as K18 fragments; increased serum TPS concentrations could, therefore, represent necrosis or apoptosis. Conversely, the M30 assay detects a neoepitope that is only revealed after caspase cleavage of the protein and is postulated to be a selective biomarker of apoptosis. [13, 16].