Advances in biomarker for stroke patients: from marker to regulator

Biomarkers refer to indicators found in the blood, other body fluids or tissues that predict physiologic or disease states, increased disease risk, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention. Stroke is a heterogeneous condition, and stroke biomarkers could be used as a guiding tool for more effective personalized therapy. In this review, the recent advances in the biomarkers in stroke field are discussed. First, various types of biomarkers including genetic, extracellular vesicle, and metabolomics-associated biomarkers as well as protein biomarkers were recently introduced. The studies reviewed herein suggest that comprehensive analysis of different types of stroke biomarkers will improve the understanding of individual pathophysiologies and further promote the development of screening tool of high-risk patients, predicting model of stroke outcome and rational stroke therapy tailored to the characteristics of each case. Second, several biomarkers can be bio-'makers' that regulate compensatory or pathological process in the development of stroke etiology and recovery after stroke. Several protein (e.g., chemokines, caveoli), genetic (e.g., microRNA), and extracellular vesicles (e.g., cancer cell, stem cells-derived) may be directly involved in these processes. These bio-makers may be molecular target of treatment and can be used for new drug development.