T activation markers from cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer's disease patients

ABSTRACT

It is well known that various markers of the cholinergic synapse are altered in Alzheimer's disease. Nevertheless, the etiology of the neuronal degeneration is unclear. A neuroimmune dysfunction has been considered in some studies indicating the presence of cells related with the IS in affected brain tissue, activation microglial cells and changes in cytokine production. To assess the probable role of activated T cells in the mediation of neuronal damage and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease, we examined the cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood of 19 patients diagnosed as "probable AD" and 20 age controls subjects in order to investigate the presence of HLA DR+ and CD 25+ T cells. A significant increase of activated T lymphocyte (p<0,05) was observed in CSF of AD group compared to controls. No association was found between the percentage of activated T cells from both fluids. Our results would enables to omit a hypothesis about an indirect immunological mechanism in CNS of AD which may act to perpetuate the sequence of events involvement in amyloid neurotoxicity and progressive neurodegeneration in this disorder(AU)