title: Serum MCP-1 levels are increased in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Upregulation of a number of chemokines, including monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathological changes. Emerging evidence suggests that inflammatory events precede the clinical development of AD, as cytokine disregulation has been observed also in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCP-1 levels were evaluated in serum samples from 48 subjects with MCI, 94 AD patients and 24 age-matched controls. Significantly increased MCP-1 levels were found in MCI and mild AD, but not in severe AD patients as compared with controls. mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR analysis, paralleled serum MCP-1 levels. Moreover, a progressive MCP-1 decrease was observed over a 1-year follow up in a subgroup of MCI subjects converted to AD. MCP-1 upregulation is likely to be a very early event in AD pathogenesis, by far preceding the clinical onset of the disease. Nevertheless, as MCP-1 is likely to play a role in several pathologies with an inflammatory component, a possible usefulness as an early AD biomarker would be possible only in combination with other molecules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, Dino Ferrari Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy. daniela.galimberti@unimi.it <daniela.galimberti@unimi.it>
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galimberti
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fenoglio
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lovati
authors.forename: Eliana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Venturelli
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Guidi
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Corrà
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scalabrini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Clerici
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.forename: Nereo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bresolin
authors.forename: Elio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scarpini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C111835:CCL2 protein, human; D018932:Chemokine CCL2