Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1108, 1007 MB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Clinical Chemistry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Alzheimers Res Ther. 2018 Jun 23;10(1):58. doi: 10.1186/s13195-018-0385-8.
Increasing evidence suggests that cerebral vascular dysfunction is associated with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the key players involved in the development and maintenance of the vasculature. Here, we hypothesized that VEGF levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may be altered in AD patients with vascular involvement, characterized by the presence of microbleeds (MB), and in vascular dementia (VaD) patients compared to controls.
VEGF levels were determined by electrochemilumiscence Meso Scale Discovery (MULTI-SPOT Assay System) in CSF from age-matched groups of controls with subjective cognitive decline (n = 21), AD without MB (n = 25), AD with MB (n = 25), and VaD (n = 21) patients.
The average level of VEGF in the different groups was 2.8 ± 1 pg/ml CSF. Adjusted for age and gender, no significant differences were detected between groups (p > 0.5). However, we detected a significant correlation between the concentration of VEGF in the CSF and age (r = 0.22, p = 0.03). In addition, males (n = 54) revealed higher VEGF levels in their CSF compared to females (n = 38) (males = 3.08 ± 0.769 pg/ml (mean ± SD), females = 2.6 ± 0.59; p = 0.006), indicating a gender-related regulation.
Our study suggests that VEGF levels in the CSF do not reflect the cerebral vascular alterations in either AD or VaD patients. The observed associations of VEGF with age and gender may indicate that VEGF reflects normal aging and that males and females may differ in their aging process.
越来越多的证据表明，脑血管功能障碍与阿尔茨海默病（AD）的早期阶段有关。血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）是参与血管发育和维持的关键因子之一。在这里，我们假设 VEGF 水平在伴有血管受累的 AD 患者（表现为微出血（MB））和血管性痴呆（VaD）患者的脑脊液（CSF）中可能发生改变，与对照组相比。
通过电化学发光 Meso Scale Discovery（MULTI-SPOT 测定系统）测定年龄匹配的对照组（主观认知下降组，n = 21）、无 MB 的 AD 患者（n = 25）、有 MB 的 AD 患者（n = 25）和 VaD 患者（n = 21）的 CSF 中的 VEGF 水平。
不同组的 VEGF 平均水平为 2.8 ± 1 pg/ml CSF。调整年龄和性别后，组间无显著差异（p > 0.5）。然而，我们检测到 CSF 中 VEGF 浓度与年龄之间存在显著相关性（r = 0.22，p = 0.03）。此外，男性（n = 54）的 CSF 中 VEGF 水平高于女性（n = 38）（男性= 3.08 ± 0.769 pg/ml（均值 ± 标准差），女性= 2.6 ± 0.59；p = 0.006），表明存在性别相关的调节。
我们的研究表明，CSF 中的 VEGF 水平不能反映 AD 或 VaD 患者的脑血管改变。观察到的 VEGF 与年龄和性别之间的关联可能表明 VEGF 反映了正常衰老，男性和女性的衰老过程可能存在差异。
