title: High serum levels of transforming growth factor β1 are associated with increased cortical thickness in cingulate and right frontal areas in healthy subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is a cytokine having multiple functions in the central nervous system such as promoting repair mechanisms in degenerative diseases and stroke. To date, however, its neuroprotective effects in non-disease conditions have not been studied
  
  
  METHODS
  With the aim of exploring the relationship between peripheral TGF-β1 expression and brain structural integrity, 70 healthy participants underwent high-resolution structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans and blood sampling. Data were processed to obtain brain cortical thickness and serum concentrations of TGF-β1. We investigated the correlation between TGF-β1 and cortical thickness using both region-of-interest- and vertex-based approaches.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Region-of-interest-based analysis of the cortical mantle showed a correlation between TGF-β1 serum concentrations and cortical thickness bilaterally in cingulate and right frontal and temporal areas. Similar results emerged in the vertex-based analysis, where significant correlations were found bilaterally in cingulate and right frontal cortices.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that TGF-β1, through its role in down-regulating inflammatory processes, might have a beneficial effect on the structural integrity of the brain in physiological states.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione IRCCS Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy. f.piras@hsantalucia.it
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salani
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bossù
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caltagirone
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spalletta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1