Colletti Tiziana, Agnello Luisa, Spataro Rossella, Guccione Lavinia, Notaro Antonietta, Lo Sasso Bruna, Blandino Valeria, Graziano Fabiola, Gambino Caterina Maria, Giglio Rosaria Vincenza, Bivona Giulia, La Bella Vincenzo, Ciaccio Marcello, Piccoli Tommaso
ALS Clinical Research Center and Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90129 Palermo, Italy.
Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90127, Palermo, Italy.
Brain Sci. 2021 Feb 27;11(3):302. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11030302.
The involvement of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been widely discussed and its role in the disease is still a matter of debate. Aβ accumulates in the cortex and the anterior horn neurons of ALS patients and seems to affect their survival. To clarify the role of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ 1-42 and Aβ 42/40 ratios as a potential prognostic biomarker for ALS, we performed a retrospective observational study on a cohort of ALS patients who underwent a lumbar puncture at the time of the diagnosis. CSF Aβ 1-40 and Aβ 1-42 ratios were detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay and their values were correlated with clinical features. We found a significant correlation of the Aβ 42/40 ratio with age at onset and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. No significant correlation of Aβ 1-42 or Aβ 42/40 ratios to the rate of progression of the disease were found. Furthermore, when we stratified patients according to Aβ 1-42 concentration and the Aβ 42/40 ratio, we found that patients with a lower Aβ 42/40 ratio showed a shorter survival. Our results support the hypothesis that Aβ 1-42 could be involved in some pathogenic mechanism of ALS and we suggest the Aβ 42/40 ratio as a potential prognostic biomarker.
β-淀粉样蛋白（Aβ）在肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）发病机制中的作用已被广泛讨论，其在该疾病中的作用仍存在争议。Aβ在ALS患者的皮质和前角神经元中积聚，似乎会影响它们的存活。为了阐明脑脊液（CSF）中Aβ 1-42和Aβ 42/40比值作为ALS潜在预后生物标志物的作用，我们对一组在诊断时接受腰椎穿刺的ALS患者进行了一项回顾性观察研究。通过化学发光免疫测定法检测脑脊液中Aβ 1-40和Aβ 1-42比值，并将其值与临床特征相关联。我们发现Aβ 42/40比值与发病年龄和简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）评分之间存在显著相关性。未发现Aβ 1-42或Aβ 42/40比值与疾病进展速率之间存在显著相关性。此外，当我们根据Aβ 1-42浓度和Aβ 42/40比值对患者进行分层时，我们发现Aβ 42/40比值较低的患者生存期较短。我们的结果支持Aβ 1-42可能参与ALS某些致病机制的假设，并且我们建议将Aβ 42/40比值作为一种潜在的预后生物标志物。
