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Increased levels of inflammatory chemokines in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Author(s) -
Kuhle J.,
Lindberg R. L. P.,
Regeniter A.,
Mehling M.,
Steck A. J.,
Kappos L.,
Czaplinski A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
european journal of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1468-1331
pISSN - 1351-5101
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2009.02560.x
Subject(s) - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , eotaxin , chemokine , medicine , proinflammatory cytokine , inflammation , immunology , ccl17 , cerebrospinal fluid , cytokine , microglia , multiple sclerosis , disease , chemokine receptor
Background and purpose: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is classically assumed to be a neurodegenerative disorder. Inflammation has been observed in CNS tissue in ALS patients. We investigated the expression and prognostic relevance of proinflammatory chemokines in ALS. Methods: We analyzed nine chemokines, eotaxin, eotaxin‐3, IL‐8, IP‐10, MCP‐1, MCP‐4, macrophage derived chemokine (MDC), macrophage inflammatory protein‐1β (MIP‐1β), and serum thymus and activation‐ regulated chemokine (TARC) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 20 ALS‐ and 20 non‐inflammatory neurological disease (NIND)‐patients. Results: MCP‐1 and IL‐8 levels in CSF in ALS were significantly higher than in NIND (1304 pg/ml vs. 1055 pg/ml, P = 0.013 and 22.7 pg/ml vs. 18.6 pg/ml, P = 0.035). The expression of MCP‐1 and IL‐8 were higher in CSF than in serum ( P < 0.001). There was a trend towards higher MCP‐1 CSF levels in ALS patients with shorter time between first symptoms and diagnosis ( r = −0.407; P = 0.075). Conclusions: We confirmed previous findings of increased MCP‐1 levels in CSF of ALS patients. Furthermore, increased levels of IL‐8 in CSF suggest a stimulation of a proinflammatory cytokine cascade after microglia activation. We found a tendency for higher MCP‐1 values in patients with a shorter diagnostic delay, who are known to have also a shorter survival. This may suggest an association of higher MCP‐1 levels with rapidly progressing disease.