Clinical Research

Analysis of the impact of serum UCH⁃L1 combined with Netrin⁃1 levels on cerebral edema and neurological prognosis in patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage

  • Shan XIE ,
  • Dongqi SHAO ,
  • Yu LI ,
  • Xialin ZHENG ,
  • Zhiquan JIANG ,
  • Zhilin SHAO
Expand
  • *.Department of Neurosurgery,the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University,Bengbu 233000,Anhui,China

Received date: 2025-07-16

  Online published: 2025-11-26

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression levels of Ubiquitin Carboxy-Terminal Hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) and Netrin-1 in the serum of patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage(ICH) complicated with cerebral edema, and to analyze their impacts on neurological deficits and prognosis. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 173 patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University from September 2023 to January 2025. The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were measured within 24 hours after the onset. They were divided into three groups according to the size of the cerebral edema volume (CEV): Group A (CEV < 10 mL), Group B (CEV 10 ~ 30 mL), and Group C (CEV > 30 mL). Pearson′s correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between serum expression levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 with hemorrhage, volume of cerebral edema, distance of midline shift, Modified Edinburgh-Scandinavian Stroke Scale (MESSS) score, Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score, and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for poor prognosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of UCH-L1 and netrin-1 for poor prognosis. Results Significant differences were observed in the serum levels of UCH-L1 and netrin-1 among patients with different volumes of cerebral edema (P < 0.05). The larger the volume of cerebral edema, the higher the expression levels of UCH-L1 and netrin-1. The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were significantly higher in the poor prognosis group compared to the good prognosis group (P < 0.05). The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were positively correlated with MESSS score, hemorrhage volume, cerebral edema volume, distance of midline shift, and mRS score (P < 0.05), and negatively correlated with GCS score (P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that both UCH-L1 and netrin-1 were independent risk factors for poor neurological prognosis in basal ganglia hemorrhage patients (P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis indicated that both markers had important predictive value for poor prognosis. The AUC for serum UCH-L1 level predicting poor prognosis was 0.77[95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69 ~ 0.85, P < 0.01], with a sensitivity of 84.9% and a specificity of 50.6%. The AUC for serum Netrin-1 level predicting poor prognosis was 0.89 (95%CI: 0.85 ~ 0.94, P < 0.01), with a sensitivity of 82.1% and a specificity of 68.7%. Conclusions Serum UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 are differentially expressed in patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage complicated with different volumes of cerebral edema. They are independent risk factors for poor prognosis and are important predictors of neurological function prognosis in these patients.

Cite this article

Shan XIE , Dongqi SHAO , Yu LI , Xialin ZHENG , Zhiquan JIANG , Zhilin SHAO . Analysis of the impact of serum UCH⁃L1 combined with Netrin⁃1 levels on cerebral edema and neurological prognosis in patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage[J]. The Journal of Practical Medicine, 2025 , 41(22) : 3537 -3543 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2025.22.010

References

[1] PRADILLA G, RATCLIFF J J, HALL A J, et al. Trial of Early Minimally Invasive Removal of Intracerebral Hemorrhage[J]. N Engl J Med, 2024,390(14):1277-1289. doi:10.1056/nejmoa2308440
[2] SHEIKH HASSAN M, MOHAMED ALI A, FARAH OSMAN M,et al. Spontaneous Bilateral Basal Ganglia Hemorrhage Due to Severe Hypertension[J]. Vasc Health Risk Manag, 2022,18:473-477. doi:10.2147/vhrm.s362059
[3] 孙实安,王迎东,程晓峰,等. 基于定量脑电图及经颅多普勒的多模脑功能监测评估急性高血压性脑出血血肿扩大及预后的价值[J]. 实用医学杂志,2025,41(1):114-119.
[4] WAN Y, HOLSTE K G, HUA Y, et al. Brain edema formation and therapy after intracerebral hemorrhage[J]. Neurobiol Dis, 2023,176:105948. doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105948
[5] CARDONA-COLLAZOS S, GONZALEZ W D, PABON-TSUKA-MOTO P, et al. Cerebral Edema in Traumatic Brain Injury[J]. Biomedicines, 2025,13(7):1728. doi:10.3390/biomedicines13071728
[6] GREIGE T, TAO B S, DANGAYACH N S, et al. Cerebral Edema Monitoring and Management Strategies: Results from an International Practice Survey[J]. Neurocrit Care, 2025,42(1):207-221. doi:10.1007/s12028-024-02077-0
[7] ZHANG C L, FANG L L, WANG C L, et al. Prognostic potential of serum mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor in acute intracerebral hemorrhage: A prospective observational study[J]. BMC Neurol, 2023,23(1):213. doi:10.1186/s12883-023-03254-y
[8] PAPA L, MCKINLEY W I, VALADKA A B, et al. Diagnostic Performance of GFAP, UCH-L1, and MAP-2 Within 30 and 60 Minutes of Traumatic Brain Injury[J]. JAMA Netw Open, 2024,7(9):e2431115. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.31115
[9] GUO Z N, QU Y, ABUDUXUKUER R, et al. Serum GFAP and UCH-L1 Levels for the Assessment of the Absence of Hemorrhagic Transformation: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study[J]. Stroke, 2025,56(1):22-29. doi:10.1161/strokeaha.124.047887
[10] LEGRAMANTE J M, MINIERI M, BELLI M, et al. Evaluation of GFAP/UCH-L1 biomarkers for computed tomography exclusion in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)[J]. Int J Emerg Med, 2024,17(1):164. doi:10.1186/s12245-024-00708-z
[11] SHU F, HUANG H, XIAO S, et al. Netrin-1 co-cross-linked hydrogel accelerates diabetic wound healing in situ by modulating macrophage heterogeneity and promoting angiogenesis[J]. Bioact Mater, 2024,39:302-316. doi:10.1016/j.bioactmat.2024.04.019
[12] NABEEL MUSTAFA A, SALIH MAHDI M, BALLAL S, et al. Netrin-1: Key insights in neural development and disorders[J]. Tissue Cell, 2025,93:102678. doi:10.1016/j.tice.2024.102678
[13] FARAHANI H, GANJI A, MOSAYEBI G, et al. Netrin-1: Dual Roles in Neuroinflammation and Neurodegenerative Disease Dynamics[J]. Int J Inflam, 2025, 2025:8670048. doi:10.1155/ijin/8670048
[14] YANG X, LIU Y, ZHONG W, et al. Netrin-1 attenuates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by limiting mitochondrial ROS and Ca2+ levels via activation of AKT phosphorylation and mitochondrial m-AAA protease AFG3L2[J]. FASEB J,2023,37(3):e22805. doi:10.1096/fj.202201739r
[15] TEO K C, FONG S M, LEUNG W C Y, et al. Location-Specific Hematoma Volume Cutoff and Clinical Outcomes in Intracerebral Hemorrhage[J]. Stroke, 2023,54(6):1548-1557. doi:10.1161/strokeaha.122.041246
[16] CAO L, LIU M, WANG M, et al. 3D slicer-based calculation of hematoma irregularity index for predicting hematoma expansion in intracerebral hemorrhage[J]. BMC Neurol, 2022,22(1):452. doi:10.1186/s12883-022-02983-w
[17] 中华人民共和国国家卫生健康委员会. 脑血管病防治指南(2024年版)[J]. 磁共振成像,2025,1601:1-8.
[18] MORRIS N A, SIMARD J M, CHATURVEDI S. Surgical Management for Primary Intracerebral Hemorrhage[J]. Neurology,2024,103(4):e209714. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000209714
[19] KALRA L P, ZYLYFTARI S, BLUMS K, et al. Rapid Diagnosis of Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Patients With Acute Stroke by Measuring Prehospital GFAP Levels on a Point-of-Care Device (DETECT)[J]. Neurology, 2025,105(2):e213823. doi:10.1212/wnl.0000000000213823
[20] JIANG C, GUO H, ZHANG Z, et al. Molecular, Pathological, Clinical, and Therapeutic Aspects of Perihematomal Edema in Different Stages of Intracerebral Hemorrhage[J]. Oxid Med Cell Longev, 2022, 2022:3948921. doi:10.1155/2022/3948921
[21] LI S, WANG L. 3D Slicer-Assisted Preoperative Planning Enhances Hematoma Evacuation in Stereotactic Aspiration for Intracerebral Hemorrhage[J]. World Neurosurg, 2025,195:123684. doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2025.123684
[22] LI L M, KODOSAKI E, HESLEGRAVE A, et al. High-dimensional proteomic analysis for pathophysiological classification of traumatic brain injury[J]. Brain, 2025,148(3):1015-1030. doi:10.1093/brain/awae305
[23] XU M, ZHAO X, ZHAO J, et al. UCH-L1 Inhibitor Alleviates Nerve Damage Caused by Moyamoya Disease[J]. Appl Bionics Biomech, 2024,2024:2550642. doi:10.1155/2024/2550642
[24] AURICCHIO A M, BARONI S, REZAI JAHROMI B, et al. Predicting Role of GFAP and UCH-L1 biomarkers in Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage:A preliminary study to evaluate in the short-term their correlation with severity of bleeding and prognosis[J]. J Clin Neurosci, 2024,126:119-127. doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2024.06.003
[25] LORTON F, LAGARES A, DE LA CRUZ J, et al. Performance of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) biomarkers in predicting CT scan results and neurological outcomes in children with traumatic brain injury (BRAINI-2 paediatric study): Protocol of a European prospective multicentre study[J]. BMJ Open, 2024,14(5):e083531. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-083531
[26] LIU L, LIU K J, CAO J B, et al. A Novel Netrin-1-Derived Peptide Enhances Protection against Neuronal Death and Mitigates of Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Mice[J]. Int J Mol Sci,2021,22(9):4829. doi:10.3390/ijms22094829
[27] WU Y, LIU Z, XU P, et al. The Role of Macrophage-Derived Netrin-1 in Inflammatory Diseases[J]. Biomolecules, 2025,15(7):921. doi:10.3390/biom15070921
Outlines

/