title: Patients with Alzheimer's disease display a pro-inflammatory phenotype.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inflammation plays a pivotal role in amyloid plaque progression thereby contributing to Alzheimer's disease-related neurodegeneration. We hypothesized that patients with Alzheimer's disease have an innate pro-inflammatory phenotype, as compared to control subjects without dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease (n=12) and control subjects without signs of dementia (n=18) were enrolled. Whole blood samples were stimulated ex vivo with endotoxin under standard conditions. Cytokine levels were assessed by ELISA and compared by Mann-Whitneyll-test after log transformation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with Alzheimer's disease had seven- to ten-fold higher IL-1beta production relative to the amount of IL-10 both at the low (p=0.006) and high concentration of endotoxin (p=0.007). Subjects who display a pro-inflammatory phenotype as defined by a high IL-1beta/IL-10 ratio had 13.0-fold higher odds (95% CI: 2.1-82) to have dementia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data support the hypothesis that a pro-inflammatory phenotype contributes to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
authors.affiliation: Section of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Department of General Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Building 1 C-2R, P.O.BOX 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands. e.j.remarque@lumc.nl
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Remarque
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Bollen
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Weverling-Rijnsburger
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Laterveer
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Blauw
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Westendorp
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics*; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000097:blood; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D004731:Endotoxins; D007375:Interleukin-1; D016753:Interleukin-10