Qiao Shan, Sun Quan-Ye, Zhang Shan-Chao, Zhang Ran-Ran, Wu Yu-Jiao, Wang Zhi-Hao, Liu Xue-Wu
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2022 Jul 29;18:1535-1543. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S374798. eCollection 2022.
Syncytin-1 may play a role in several neuropsychiatric disorders, but its function in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible mechanism of action of syncytin-1 in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis.
Twenty patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and eight controls were recruited. The protein levels of syncytin-1 in serum were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the transcript levels of syncytin-1 were determined using real-time quantitative PCR. Flow cytometry was used for peripheral blood lymphocyte subset detection. Further, the relationship between syncytin-1 levels and clinical features of anti-NMDAR encephalitis and peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets was analyzed.
Compared with those in controls, higher syncytin-1 levels and percentage of B cells (CD3-CD19+) were observed in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Among anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients, the level of syncytin-1 positively correlated with the proportion of B cells and modified Rankin scale score at onset and after immunotherapy and negatively correlated with the proportion of CD3+ T cells.
An increased expression of Syncytin-1 is associated with the pathogenesis of anti-NMDAR encephalitis, providing evidence for elucidating the pathogenesis of the disease and suggesting novel therapeutic targets. Further, this study clarifies the role of syncytin-1 in neuroimmune disorders.
合胞素-1可能在多种神经精神疾病中发挥作用，但其在抗N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸受体（抗NMDAR）脑炎中的功能尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨合胞素-1在抗NMDAR脑炎患者中的可能作用机制。
招募了20例抗NMDAR脑炎患者和8名对照。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法测定血清中合胞素-1的蛋白水平，采用实时定量PCR测定合胞素-1的转录水平。采用流式细胞术检测外周血淋巴细胞亚群。此外，分析了合胞素-1水平与抗NMDAR脑炎临床特征及外周血淋巴细胞亚群之间的关系。
与对照组相比，抗NMDAR脑炎患者的合胞素-1水平及B细胞（CD3-CD19+）百分比更高。在抗NMDAR脑炎患者中，合胞素-1水平与发病时及免疫治疗后的B细胞比例和改良Rankin量表评分呈正相关，与CD3+T细胞比例呈负相关。
合胞素-1表达增加与抗NMDAR脑炎的发病机制有关，为阐明该疾病的发病机制提供了证据，并提示了新的治疗靶点。此外，本研究阐明了合胞素-1在神经免疫疾病中的作用。
