ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Neurocognitive Aging and Behavior
Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1570482
This article is part of the Research TopicNeurobiological insights into healthy brain aging: From molecular markers to behavioral manifestations – A cross-species analysisView all 4 articles
The expression and association of MATK in chronic hypoperfusion patients with white matter hyperintensity
Provisionally accepted
Ming Zhao1,2*
Jiayue Zhang3Qianqian Yang4Lei Chen4
Hongjian Shen4Yingyan Pu2Yi Han1
Ping Zhang1*Wei Wei1- 1Naval Medical Center, Shanghai, China
- 2Naval Medical University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 3Department of Neurology, Shenzhen Samii International Medical Center, Shenzhen, China
- 4Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, Beijing Municipality, China
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Background: Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) is a key contributor to vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Patients with CCH frequently exhibit white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on MRI. This study investigated the expression and clinical relevance of megakaryocyte-associated tyrosine kinase (MATK) in CCH patients with WMH.Methods: We recruited 42 anterior circulation stenosis patients with CCH and WMH (CCH-WMH group) and 45 age-matched healthy controls. MATK mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was quantified using qPCR. WMH severity was graded using the Fazekas scale. Correlations between MATK expression and imaging/clinical parameters were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and logistic regression. Diagnostic performance was assessed via ROC analysis.Results: MATK expression was significantly downregulated in the CCH-WMH group versus controls (1.20 ± 0.99 vs. 1.84 ± 0.87; P < 0.01). MATK levels showed a strong negative correlation with Fazekas scores (R² = 0.3405, P < 0.001). Multivariate regression identified MATK as independently associated with WMH (aOR = 0.492; 95% CI: 0.262-0.923; P = 0.027). ROC analysis demonstrated moderate diagnostic accuracy for WMH (AUC = 0.743; 95% CI: 0.637-0.849).Reduced peripheral MATK expression correlates with WMH severity in CCH patients and may serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker.
Keywords: chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, White matter hyperintensity, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MATK, vascular cogitive impairment
Received: 03 Feb 2025; Accepted: 07 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Zhang, Yang, Chen, Shen, Pu, Han, Zhang and Wei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ming Zhao, Naval Medical Center, Shanghai, 200052, China
Ping Zhang, Naval Medical Center, Shanghai, 200052, China
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