Soluble interleukin-1 receptor type II levels are elevated in cerebrospinal fluid in Alzheimer's disease patients.
Evidence from epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies favour the hypothesis that inflammatory events are part of the neuropathology in Alzheimer's disease. Proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) have been found in activated microglia in the vicinity of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease brain. In the present study, the levels of soluble IL-1 receptor type II (sIL-1R type II), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha were analyzed in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from Alzheimer's disease patients and control subjects. The levels of sIL-1R type II were significantly higher in CSF from Alzheimer's disease patients than in CSF samples from control subjects (38.5+/-8 pg/ml (mean+/-S.E.M.) vs. 7.9+/-4 pg/ml, p<0.05). Measurements of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha showed no significant difference between the two groups, and the levels of IL-1beta and IL-1ra in the present material were too low to permit detection. The increased levels of sIL-1R type II may reflect a compensatory mechanism to balance an increased release of IL-1 receptor agonists in the Alzheimer's disease brain.
Garlind
A
A
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Occupational Therapy and Elderly Care Research, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Huddinge University Hospital, S-141 86, Huddinge, Sweden. anita.garlind@cnsf.ki.se
Brauner
A
A
Höjeberg
B
B
Basun
H
H
Schultzberg
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015415:Biomarkers; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D008297:Male; D017628:Microglia / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D017472:Receptors, Interleukin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D012995:Solubility; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid
D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6; D017472:Receptors, Interleukin-1; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha