Potential role of granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor in the progression of intracranial aneurysms.
Macrophages play a central role in the inflammatory response leading to aneurysm formation, progression, and rupture. The purpose of this study was to determine whether granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) plays a role in the progression of human intracranial aneurysms. Specifically, we investigated whether there was a correlation between the aneurysm size and the concentration of GM-CSF in the lumen of intracranial aneurysms. The concentrations of GM-CSF in blood samples drawn from the lumen of 15 human unruptured saccular intracranial aneurysms of 14 consecutive patients were compared. The aneurysm size was 10.3±9 mm on average. The mean plasma concentration of GM-CSF was 27.9±3.1 pg/mL in the lumen of intracranial aneurysms. The mean plasma concentration of GM-CSF was significantly higher in aneurysms larger than 7 mm (30.1±2.8 pg/mL) compared with aneurysms smaller than 7 mm (26.4±2.4 pg/mL; p=0.02). There was a significant positive correlation between the aneurysm size and the plasma concentration of GM-CSF (Spearman's rho=0.55; p=0.04). There is a significant positive correlation between the aneurysm size and the plasma concentration of GM-CSF in aneurysm lumens. This suggests that GM-CSF, through its stimulatory function on macrophages, may promote aneurysm progression and may be a possible therapeutic target.
1 Department of Neurosurgery, Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Nohra
N
Chalouhi
Thana
T
Theofanis
Robert M
RM
Starke
Mario
M
Zanaty
Pascal
P
Jabbour
Sarah A
SA
Dooley
David
D
Hasan
D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor