title: Elevated circulating levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor in individuals with acute spinal cord injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is elevated in the circulation of individuals with acute spinal cord injury (SCI) compared with uninjured individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, observational pilot study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adults with acute traumatic SCI (n=18) and uninjured participants (n=18), comparable in age and sex distribution.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  The primary outcome measure was the plasma MIF levels. Potential correlations were examined between MIF and clinical/demographic variables. The secondary outcome was to determine if other immune mediators were elevated in participants with acute SCI and if their levels correlated with the MIF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MIF was significantly elevated in subjects with acute SCI compared with control subjects at 0 to 3 (P<.0029), 4 to 7 (P<.0001), and 8 to 11 (P<.0015) days postinjury (DPI). At 0 to 3 DPI, levels of cytokines interleukin-6 (P<.00017), interleukin-9 (P<.0047), interleukin-16 (P<.007), interleukin-18 (P<.014), chemokines growth-related oncogene α/chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (P<.0127) and macrophage inflammatory protein 1-β/chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 4 (P<.0015), and growth factors hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) (P<.0001) and stem cell growth factor-β (P<.0103) were also significantly elevated in subjects with acute SCI. With the exception of interleukin-9, all of these factors remained significantly elevated at 4 to 7 DPI; a subset (interleukin-16, HGF, stem cell growth factor-β) remained elevated throughout the study. Within individuals, MIF levels correlated with HGF (P<.018) and interleukin-16 (P<.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data demonstrate that MIF is significantly elevated in subjects with acute SCI, supporting further investigation of MIF and other inflammatory mediators in acute SCI, where they may contribute to primary and secondary functional outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Trauma Center, North Shore University Hospital, The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bank
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine and The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY; Department of Molecular Medicine, Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sison
authors.affiliation: Trauma Center, North Shore University Hospital, The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Glazer
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine and The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Navdeep
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jassal
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine and The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Dayna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine and The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shatzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Staten Island University Hospital, The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Staten Island, NY.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.affiliation: Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Radhika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chugh
authors.affiliation: Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine and The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY; Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY; Department of Molecular Medicine, Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Manhasset, NY. Electronic address: obloom@nshs.edu.
authors.forename: Ona
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bloom
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018925:Chemokines / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008263:Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018925:Chemokines; D016207:Cytokines; D008263:Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors
keywords: Cytokines; Inflammation; Macrophage migration-inhibitory factors; Rehabilitation; Spinal cord injuries