Can J Neurol Sci. 2012 Nov;39(6):813-20.
Wu A, Zhong X, Wang H, Xu W, Cheng C, Dai Y, Bao J, Qiu W, Lu Z, Hu X.
Source
Department of Neurology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are inflammatory demyelinating diseases of human central nervous system (CNS) with complex pathogenesis. IL-21/IL-21R regulates activation, proliferation and survival of both T cells and B cells, which are involved in the pathogenesis of NMO and MS. High levels of serum IL-21 were observed in NMO patients. However, concentration of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IL-21 in MS and NMO patients still remain unknown. Object: To detect the CSF concentration of IL-21 in NMO and MS patients and to evaluate its relationship with disease activity, particularly concerned about its impact on humoral immunity.
METHODS:
CSF IL-21 was detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in NMO patients (n=21), MS patients (n=20) and controls (n=16).
RESULTS:
CSF concentration of the IL-21 was noticeably elevated in NMO (p=0.012) and borderline significantly increased in MS (p=0.115). In addition, this occurrence was associated with humoral immune activity as shown by a correlation between IL-21 and complement in NMO cohort (p=0.023) and high IL-21 levels in autoantibody-positive subgroup (p=0.027).
CONCLUSIONS:
The concentration of CSF IL-21 was noticeably elevated and might have a positive correlation with humoral immune activity in NMO.
PMID: 23041403 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]