Table 1.

Candidate Markers of Cardioembolic Stroke, Based on Underlying Pathologies or Endophenotypes

	Name	Accesion #	Reason for Being a Candidate	Ref.
1	Adiponectin	Q15848	Elevated in patients with persistent AF.	[41]
2	Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2)	O15123	Angiogenic factor. Elevated in AF patients.	[29]
3	Apelin	Q9ULZ1	It seems to be involved in regulation of the angiotensin/vasopressin system. Lower levels in lone AF patients, correlating negatively with proBNP.	[42]
4	Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA)	–	Endogen inhibitor of NOS. ADMA contributes to the thromboembolism in AF.	[43]
5	Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP)	P01160	Marker of cardiac damage. Higher levels in CE stroke vs. other etiologies (262 patients).	[19]
6	Brain Natriuretic peptide (BNP)	P16860	Higher plasma levels in patients suffering from acute CE strokes vs. other etiologies. Independent predictor of CE stroke.	[16, 18, 44, 45]
7	Brain natriuretic peptide, proform (pro-BNP)	P16860	Higher levels in CE stroke patients vs. other etiologies (262 patients). Pro-BNP might be useful to reclassify undetermined stroke as of CE origin.	[19]
8	Carboxy-terminal telopeptide of collagen type I (CITP)	–	Marker of collagen degradation. Elevated in patients with AF.	[41, 46]
9	CD40 ligand, soluble (sCD40L)	P29965	Inflammatory marker. Elevated in AF patients. No differencies found among etiologies within 107 acute ischemic stroke patients.	[29, 31]
10	CD63	P08962	Platelet activation marker. More positive cells in AF patients (121 patients studied).	[30]
11	Coagulation factor VII (FVII)	P08709	A promoter polymorphism is associated with risk reduction of CE stroke in AF patients.	[47]
12	C-reactive protein (CRP)	P02741	Risk marker for AF. Increased in acute CE stroke respect other etiologies (648 patients studied).	[15, 24]
13	D-dimer	–	Breakdown product of fibrin, elevated in patients with AF. Independent predictor of CE stroke (707 ischemic stroke patients).	[15-17]
14	E-selectin, soluble	P16581	Marker of endothelial activation. Elevated in AF patients.	[48]
15	Fibrinopeptide A	P02671	Increased in patients with AF. It reflects thrombin activity.	[15]
16	Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)	P01584	Higher levels in subacute CE stroke vs. other etiologies (120 patients involved).	[20]
17	Interleukin-6 (IL-6)	P05231	Pro-inflammatory cytokine. Elevated in AF patients and in subacute CE stroke vs. other etiologies (120 patients studied).	[15, 20, 25]
18	Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1)	P03956	Patients with AF had MMP-1 reduced.	[49]
19	Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9)	P14780	Elevated in AF patients vs. controls.	[50]
20	Neuropeptide Y (NPY)	P01303	Elevated in AF patients vs. controls.	[50]
21	Paired-like homeodomain (PITX2)	Q99697	Transcription factor associated with AF. Gene polymorphism associated with CE stroke.	[36, 37]
22	Platelet factor 4 (PF-4)	P02776	Marker of platelet activation in AF patients.	[15]
23	Platelet microparticles (PMP)	–	Higher number of particles in AF than in healthy controls.	[51]
24	Prothrombin fragment 1.2 (F1+2)	–	Marker of thrombogenesis. Increased in AF patients.	[49]
25	P-selectin (CD62P)	P16109	More positive cells in AF patients with high risk of stroke.	[30]
26	p-Selectin, soluble	P16109	Marker of platelet activation in AF patients.	[15, 30]
27	Tissue factor (TF)	P13726	Coagulation. Higher levels in AF patients.	[15]
28	Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1)	P01033	Increased in AF patients.	[49]
29	Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)	P01137	Profibrotic cytokine. Higher levels predict persistent AF.	[52]
30	Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)	P01375	Pro-inflammatory cytokine. Elevated in AF patients and in subacute CE stroke vs. other etiologies (120 patients studied).	[15, 20]
31	Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)	P15692	Elevated in AF patients	[29]
32	von Willebrand factor (vWF)	P04275	Marker of endothelial damage/dysfunction. Higher plasma levels in AF patients, where predicts cardiovascular events.	[15, 53]
33	Zinc finger homeobox 3 (ZFHX3)	Q15911	Gene polymorphism associated with AF and CE stroke.	[38]