Get help now — free helplines

You can call any of these for free. You do not need a diagnosis, an appointment, or a crisis to call — questions and plain exhaustion are reasons enough.

  • Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Free, confidential support and information for people with dementia, caregivers, families and the public. Master's-level clinicians. Also Spanish.
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 24/7 Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. For anyone in emotional distress or a mental-health crisis, including caregivers.
  • Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) Helpline 866-232-8484 9:00 am - 9:00 pm ET, seven days a week Licensed social workers providing support, info and referrals. Also text message and web chat. Text: 646-586-5283

In a medical emergency, call 911. More numbers, and what each line does, on the help page.

This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 34 out of 100. Tau biomarkers

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

YKL-39 is a Glyco_18 domain containing chitinase-like protein which is currently recognized as a biomarker for the activation of chondrocytes and the progress of the osteoarthritis in human. YKL-39 was identified as an abundantly secreted protein in primary culture of human articular chondrocytes. Two biological activities of YKL-39 might contribute to the disease progression.

Key findings

Why it matters

This laboratory study examined how TGF-beta and IL-4 stimulate expression of the osteoarthritis marker YKL-39 in differentiating macrophages. It is about osteoarthritis biology, not Alzheimer's disease, so it has no direct implications for treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's.

Study details

How this study scored 34/100
How this study's score is builtJournal tier 7 of 10; Journal's citation record left out, no data; Study design 0 of 12; Strength of evidence 1 of 5; Peer-review validation 10 of 10; How recent 1 of 5; Sample size 0 of 4; Effect reported 0 of 3; Studied in people 0 of 3; Randomised / blinded 0 of 2; Times cited 3 of 7; Citations per year 1 of 5; Impact for its field and year 1 of 6; Cited by studies here 0 of 6; Still being cited 0 of 4; Senior author's track record 3 of 4; Institution's track record 1 of 3; Multi-centre collaboration 1 of 3; Indexed in PubMed 2 of 2; Free to read 2 of 2. 33 of the 96 points it could be judged on, which is 34 of 100. Total 34 of 100.33 of the 96 points we could judge = 34 of 100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, so that was left out: it earned 33 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 34 out of 100.

ComponentPointsWhy
Journal tier 7 / 10 Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Biomarker insights)
Journal's citation record — / 4 No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score
Study design 0 / 12 No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence 1 / 5 Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation 10 / 10 Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent 1 / 5 2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size 0 / 4 Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported 0 / 3 No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people 0 / 3 Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomised / blinded 0 / 2 No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited 3 / 7 Cited 30 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year 1 / 5 1.5 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008
Impact for its field and year 1 / 6 Cited 0.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here 0 / 6 No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited 0 / 4 Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record 3 / 4 Last-listed author Julia G. Kzhyshkowska: h-index 57 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record 1 / 3 Heidelberg University: institution h-index 1,344 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration 1 / 3 OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed 2 / 2 Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19578492)
Free to read 2 / 2 Free to read
Points 33 / 96 Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 33 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 34 out of 100.
Total 34 / 100 —

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. This record has no DOI, so the citation leaves it out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

APA 7th

Gratchev, A., Schmuttermaier, C., Mamidi, S., Gooi, L., Goerdt, S., & Kzhyshkowska, J. (2008). Expression of Osteoarthritis Marker YKL-39 is Stimulated by Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-beta) and IL-4 in Differentiating Macrophages. Biomarker insights.

Vancouver

Gratchev A, Schmuttermaier C, Mamidi S, Gooi L, Goerdt S, Kzhyshkowska J. Expression of Osteoarthritis Marker YKL-39 is Stimulated by Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-beta) and IL-4 in Differentiating Macrophages. Biomarker insights. 2008. PMID: 19578492.

BibTeX

@article{gratchev2008-19578492,
  author  = {Gratchev, A. and Schmuttermaier, C. and Mamidi, S. and Gooi, L. and Goerdt, S. and Kzhyshkowska, J.},
  title   = {{Expression of Osteoarthritis Marker YKL-39 is Stimulated by Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-beta) and IL-4 in Differentiating Macrophages}},
  journal = {Biomarker insights},
  year    = {2008},
  pmid    = {19578492}
}

Related studies in Tau biomarkers

Similar studies

More on Tau biomarkers

See all studies in Tau biomarkers →