Circulating soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor as a marker for diagnosis of pulmonary embolus

The purpose of this clinical study was to determine the relationship between plasma soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (T.N.F.R.) and pulmonary embolism. The histological evidence of the interaction between leukocytes and the venous wall of a thrombosed vein, as well as the over-production of TNF in plasma prompted us to assay a more stable polypeptide, namely TNF receptor, as potential markers for pulmonary embolism. Five mL of plasma were obtained from twenty patients, ranging in the age from 24 to 74 years, who had been diagnosed as having pulmonary embolism through pulmonary angiography, and 20 healthy volunteers in the same age group. The samples were then studied by enzyme-link immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measurement of soluble TNF receptor. Patients with pulmonary embolism maintained a higher serum concentration of soluble TNF receptors. It appears that plasma measurement of soluble TNF receptor could be used as a clinical test for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.