Decreased plasma levels of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in patients with early Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by massive neuronal cell loss in the brain. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a hematopoietic growth factor that promotes neuroprotective effects and supports neurogenesis in the brain. In the present study, we found significantly lower G-CSF plasma levels in 50 early AD patients in comparison with 50 age-matched healthy controls. In AD patients, G-CSF levels showed a significant inverse correlation with amyloid-beta (Abeta1-42) levels in cerebrospinal fluid, but not with levels of tau protein in cerebrospinal fluid or Mini-Mental Status Examination scores. In addition, G-CSF plasma levels were significantly inversely correlated with age in AD patients and healthy controls. In conclusion, decreased G-CSF plasma levels in early AD patients may contribute to a deficient hematopoietic brain support with putative pathogenic relevance. Further studies are needed to examine whether a modulation of hematopoietic growth factors such as G-CSF could be a promising new therapeutic strategy for AD.
Laske
Christoph
C
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. christoph.laske@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Stellos
Konstantinos
K
Stransky
Elke
E
Leyhe
Thomas
T
Gawaz
Meinrad
M
D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000097:blood
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C075222:amyloid beta-protein (1-42); D016875:tau Proteins; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor