Fondazione IRCCS Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy.
J Neuroinflammation. 2012 Feb 28;9:42. doi: 10.1186/1742-2094-9-42.
Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is a cytokine having multiple functions in the central nervous system such as promoting repair mechanisms in degenerative diseases and stroke. To date, however, its neuroprotective effects in non-disease conditions have not been studied
With the aim of exploring the relationship between peripheral TGF-β1 expression and brain structural integrity, 70 healthy participants underwent high-resolution structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans and blood sampling. Data were processed to obtain brain cortical thickness and serum concentrations of TGF-β1. We investigated the correlation between TGF-β1 and cortical thickness using both region-of-interest- and vertex-based approaches.
Region-of-interest-based analysis of the cortical mantle showed a correlation between TGF-β1 serum concentrations and cortical thickness bilaterally in cingulate and right frontal and temporal areas. Similar results emerged in the vertex-based analysis, where significant correlations were found bilaterally in cingulate and right frontal cortices.
These results suggest that TGF-β1, through its role in down-regulating inflammatory processes, might have a beneficial effect on the structural integrity of the brain in physiological states.
转化生长因子 β（TGF-β）是一种细胞因子，在中枢神经系统中具有多种功能，如促进退行性疾病和中风中的修复机制。然而，迄今为止，其在非疾病状态下的神经保护作用尚未得到研究。
为了探讨外周 TGF-β1 表达与大脑结构完整性之间的关系，70 名健康参与者接受了高分辨率结构 T1 加权磁共振成像扫描和血液采样。对数据进行处理，以获得大脑皮质厚度和 TGF-β1 的血清浓度。我们使用基于感兴趣区域和基于顶点的方法来研究 TGF-β1 与皮质厚度之间的相关性。
皮质帽的基于感兴趣区域的分析显示，TGF-β1 血清浓度与扣带回和右侧额极和颞极的皮质厚度呈双侧相关。基于顶点的分析也得出了相似的结果，在扣带回和右侧额皮质中发现了双侧的显著相关性。
这些结果表明，TGF-β1 通过其下调炎症过程的作用，可能对生理状态下大脑的结构完整性产生有益影响。
