In Clinical Chemistry this week, researchers in Sweden report on a role for plasma prolylcarboxypeptidase in obesity and diabetes, and the association of its concentration with signs of cardiovascular dysfunction. The team purified PRCP from human neutrophils from three cohorts of study participants: 40 healthy individuals, 165 people with chest pains, a community-based cohort of 1,004. "PRCP was purified to homogeneity. Mean plasma concentrations in healthy individuals were 12.9 (3.2) μg/L and were increased in patients with chest pain and in patients with obesity and/or diabetes mellitus," the authors write. "The associations of PRCP concentrations with signs of cardiovascular dysfunction and cardiovascular abnormalities suggest a pivotal role of the enzyme in disease."

Also in Clinical Chemistry this week, researchers in Finland measure hyperglycosylated human chorionic gonadotropin in the serum of testicular cancer patients. The team determined serum concentrations of hCG-h, hCG, and the free β subunit of hCG in 176 serum samples from 84 testicular cancer patients. The researchers found that a large proportion of hCG was hyperglycosylated in the pre-operative patients, at relapse, and shortly after treatment. "The serum concentrations of hCG-h and hCG correlated strongly with each other and had similar diagnostic value," the authors write. "The preoperative serum concentration of hCG-h correlated with prognostic factors and outcome in the same way as hCG. Increased preoperative hCGβ concentration predicted shorter progression-free survival."