title: Altered expression of CX3CL1 in patients with epilepsy and in a rat model.
abstract: Chemokine C-X3-C motif ligand 1 (CX3CL1, alias fractalkine), is highly expressed in the central nervous system and participates in inflammatory responses. Recent studies indicated that inflammatory processes within the brain constitute a common and crucial mechanism in the pathophysiological characteristics of epilepsy. This study investigated the expression pattern of CX3CL1 in epilepsy and its relationship with neuronal loss. Double immunolabeling, IHC, and immunoblotting results showed that CX3CL1 expression was up-regulated in the temporal neocortex of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. In a rat model of epilepsy, CX3CL1 up-regulation began 6 hours after epilepsy, with relatively high expression for 60 days. In addition, ELISA revealed that the concentrations of CX3CL1 in cerebrospinal fluid and serum were higher in epileptic patients than in patients with neurosis but lower than in patients with inflammatory neurological diseases. Moreover, H&E staining demonstrated significant neuronal loss in the brains of epileptic patients and in the rat model. Finally, the expression of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand was significantly increased in both patients and the animal model, suggesting that tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand may play a role in CX3CL1-induced cell death. Thus, our results indicate that CX3CL1 may serve as a possible biomarker of brain inflammation in epileptic patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurology, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yali
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Kebin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Yanbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhiqin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guojun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016923:Cell Death; D054428:Chemokine CX3CL1 / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019579:Neocortex / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C515538:CX3CL1 protein, human; D054428:Chemokine CX3CL1; C515540:Cx3cl1 protein, rat; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand