Serum MCP-1 levels are increased in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease

Galimberti, Daniela; Fenoglio, Chiara; Lovati, Carlo; Venturelli, Eliana; Guidi, Ilaria; Corrà, Barbara; Scalabrini, Diego; Clerici, Francesca; Mariani, Claudio; Bresolin, Nereo; Scarpini, Elio

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.10.007

« Previous Next »Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 27, Issue 12 , Pages 1763-1768, December 2006

Serum MCP-1 levels are increased in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease

Daniela Galimberti
- Department of Neurological Sciences, “Dino Ferrari” Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 02 55033858; fax: +39 02 50320430.
Chiara Fenoglio
- Department of Neurological Sciences, “Dino Ferrari” Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
Carlo Lovati
- Department of Neurology, University of Milan, Ospedale L. Sacco, Milan, Italy
Eliana Venturelli
- Department of Neurological Sciences, “Dino Ferrari” Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
Ilaria Guidi
- Department of Neurological Sciences, “Dino Ferrari” Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
Barbara Corrà
- Department of Neurological Sciences, “Dino Ferrari” Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
Diego Scalabrini
- Department of Neurological Sciences, “Dino Ferrari” Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
Francesca Clerici
- Department of Neurology, University of Milan, Ospedale L. Sacco, Milan, Italy
Claudio Mariani
- Department of Neurology, University of Milan, Ospedale L. Sacco, Milan, Italy
Nereo Bresolin
- Department of Neurological Sciences, “Dino Ferrari” Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
Elio Scarpini
- Department of Neurological Sciences, “Dino Ferrari” Center, University of Milan, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy

Received 17 June 2005; received in revised form 21 September 2005; accepted 18 October 2005. published online 22 November 2005.

Abstract

Upregulation of a number of chemokines, including monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathological changes. Emerging evidence suggests that inflammatory events precede the clinical development of AD, as cytokine disregulation has been observed also in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

MCP-1 levels were evaluated in serum samples from 48 subjects with MCI, 94 AD patients and 24 age-matched controls. Significantly increased MCP-1 levels were found in MCI and mild AD, but not in severe AD patients as compared with controls. mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR analysis, paralleled serum MCP-1 levels. Moreover, a progressive MCP-1 decrease was observed over a 1-year follow up in a subgroup of MCI subjects converted to AD. MCP-1 upregulation is likely to be a very early event in AD pathogenesis, by far preceding the clinical onset of the disease. Nevertheless, as MCP-1 is likely to play a role in several pathologies with an inflammatory component, a possible usfulness as an early AD biomarker would be possible only in combination with other molecules.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease (AD), Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), Biomarker