The CSF Levels of Neutrophil-Related Chemokines in Patients with Neuromyelitis Optica.

Pathologic findings showed that neutrophils played an important role in the pathogenesis of NMO. This study aims to investigate the CSF levels of neutrophil-related chemokines in NMO. CXCL1, CXCL5, and CXCL7 were measured in 95 patients with NMO, 15 patients with MS, 18 patients with GFAP astrocytopathy, and 16 controls. The CSF level of CXCL1, CXCL5, and CXCL7 was significantly elevated in the NMO group but not correlated with the patient clinical severity. Besides, the CSF CXCL1, CXCL5, and CXCL7 could act as biomarkers to distinguish NMO from MS with good reliability, especially the CXCL7.

CXCL1 promotes the proliferation of neural stem cells by stimulating the generation of reactive oxygen species in APP/PS1 mice.

PURPOSE: Elevated levels of CXCL1 were observed in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with early Alzheimer's disease, which may affect neural stem cells in the subventricular zone. We used APP/PS1 mice and neural stem cells to elucidate the role of CXCL1 in Alzheimer's disease. METHODS & RESULTS: We detected CXCL1 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), activated macrophages, and microglia suggesting that macrophages may contribute to elevated CXCL1 in the CSF of middle-aged APP/PS1 mice. Proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells were further analyzed and the results suggested that CXCL1 promotes the proliferation of neural stem cells and inhibits their differentiation into astrocytes. In order to determine how CXCL1 exerts these effects, we analyzed intracellular reactive oxygen species, cell signaling, and performed in vivo recovery experiments. Our results suggest that CXCL1 promotes neural stem cell proliferation through a mechanism involving the production of reactive oxygen species and the PI3K/Akt pathway. CONCLUSION: In APP/PS1 mice, macrophage-derived CXCL1 can promote the proliferation of neural stem cells in the subventricular zone via the NOX2-ROS-PI3K/Akt pathway.

Young to Middle-Aged Dogs with High Amyloid-ß Levels in Cerebrospinal Fluid are Impaired on Learning in Standard Cognition tests.

Understanding differences in Alzheimer's disease biomarkers before the pathology becomes evident can contribute to an improved understanding of disease pathogenesis and treatment. A decrease in amyloid-ß (Aß)42 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is suggested to be a biomarker for Aß deposition in brain. However, the relevance of CSF Aß levels prior to deposition is not entirely known. Dogs are similar to man with respect to amyloid-ß protein precursor (AßPP)-processing, age-related amyloid plaque deposition, and cognitive dysfunction. In the current study, we evaluated the relation between CSF Aß42 levels and cognitive performance in young to middle-aged dogs (1.5-7 years old). Additionally, CSF sAßPPα and sAßPPß were measured to evaluate AßPP processing, and CSF cytokines were measured to determine the immune status of the brain. We identified two groups of dogs showing consistently low or high CSF Aß42 levels. Based on prior studies, it was assumed that at this age no cerebral amyloid plaques were likely to be present. The cognitive performance was evaluated in standard cognition tests. Low or high Aß concentrations coincided with low or high sAßPPα, sAßPPß, and CXCL-1 levels, respectively. Dogs with high Aß concentrations showed significant learning impairments on delayed non-match to position (DNMP), object discrimination, and reversal learning compared to dogs with low Aß concentrations. Our data support the hypothesis that high levels of CSF Aß in dogs coincide with lower cognitive performance prior to amyloid deposition. Further experiments are needed to investigate this link, as well as the relevance with respect to Alzheimer's disease pathology progression.

CXCL1 Triggers Caspase-3 Dependent Tau Cleavage in Long-Term Neuronal Cultures and in the Hippocampus of Aged Mice: Implications in Alzheimer's Disease.

Truncation of tau protein is considered an early event in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is believed to play a major pathogenic role in sporadic AD. However, causative factors that trigger tau truncation in AD remain poorly understood. In the present study, we demonstrate that CXCL1 (C-X-C motif ligand 1), a specific ligand for the chemokine receptor CXCR2, induced cleavage of tau at ASP421 in a caspase-3-dependent manner in long-term but not short-term cultured neurons. The cleaved tau formed varicosities or bead-like structures along the neurites, an abnormal distribution of tau induced by CXCL1 that has not been observed previously. CXCL1-induced activation of GSK3ß and the subsequent phosphorylation of tau preceded and were required for caspase-3 activation and tau cleavage. Moreover, intrahippocampal microinjection of lentiviral CXCL1 induced tau cleavage in hippocampal neurons in aged (15-18 months of age) but not adult mice (5-10 months of age). Our data highlight a new role of CXCR2 in tau cleavage and suggest that targeting CXCR2 may offer therapeutic benefits to patients with AD and potentially other tauopathies.

Role of spinal CXCL1 (GROα) in opioid tolerance: a human-to-rodent translational study.

BACKGROUND: The pivotal role of glial activation and up-regulated inflammatory mediators in the opioid tolerance has been confirmed in rodents but not yet in humans. Here, the authors investigated the intraspinal cytokine and chemokine profiles of opioid-tolerant cancer patients; and to determine if up-regulated chemokines could modify opioid tolerance in rats. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid samples from opioid-tolerant cancer patients and opioid-naive subjects were compared. The cerebrospinal fluid levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, CXCL1, CXCL10, CCL2, and CX3CL1 were assayed. The rat tail flick test was utilized to assess the effects of intrathecal CXCL1 on morphine-induced acute antinociception and analgesic tolerance. RESULTS: CXCL1 level in cerebrospinal fluid was significantly up-regulated in the opioid-tolerant group (n = 30, 18.8 pg/ml vs. 13.2 pg/ml, P = 0.02) and was positively correlated (r = 0.49, P < 0.01) with opioid dosage. In rat experiment, after induction of tolerance by morphine infusion, the spinal cord CXCL1 messenger RNA was up-regulated to 32.5 ± 11.9-fold. Although CXCL1 infusion alone did not affect baseline tail-flick latency, the analgesic efficacy of a single intraperitoneal injection of morphine dropped significantly on day 1 to day 3 after intrathecal infusion of CXCL1. After establishing tolerance by intrathecal continuous infusion of morphine, its development was accelerated by coadministration of CXCL1 and attenuated by coadministration of CXCL1-neutralizing antibody or CXCR2 antagonist. CONCLUSIONS: CXCL1 is up-regulated in both opioid-tolerant patients and rodents. The onset and extent of opioid tolerance was affected by antagonizing intrathecal CXCL1/CXCR2 signaling. Therefore, the CXCL1/CXCR2 signal pathway may be a novel target for the treatment of opioid tolerance.