Soluble Transferrin Receptor during infancy and reference intervals for the Roche Cobas platform

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Pediatrics
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Infant iron status assessment is complicated by infections, necessitating reliable biomarkers.
• The soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is a potential biomarker for iron status, minimally affected by acute phase responses.
• Established reference intervals for sTfR during infancy are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish reference intervals for sTfR in healthy term infants from birth to 12 months.
• To evaluate the influence of C-reactive protein (CRP) on sTfR measurements in infants.
• To assess the utility of sTfR as a biomarker for infant iron status.

Main Methods:

• Quantified sTfR and CRP concentrations in 451 infants at birth, 48-96 hours, 4 months, and 12 months.
• Established reference intervals using 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles.
• Analyzed the correlation between sTfR and CRP (>1 mg/L) using Kendall correlation.

Main Results:

• Provided reference intervals for sTfR across different infant ages (birth to 12 months).
• Observed no significant sex-based differences in sTfR except at 4 months.
• Found sTfR did not covary with CRP concentrations >1 mg/L, except for samples taken at 48-96 hours.

Conclusions:

• This study provides crucial reference intervals for infant sTfR from birth to 12 months.
• sTfR demonstrates potential as a valuable diagnostic tool for infant iron status.
• The lack of covariation between sTfR and CRP at most time points supports its use in the presence of inflammation.