Kapoor Arunima, Jang Jung Yun, Engstrom Allison C, Lohman Trevor, Dutt Shubir, Alitin John Paul M, Sible Isabel J, Marshall Anisa, Shenasa Fatemah, Gaubert Aimee, Nguyen Amy, Bradford David Robert, Rodgers Kathleen, Han S Duke, Nation Daniel A
Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2025 Apr;19(2):379-383. doi: 10.1007/s11682-025-00969-z. Epub 2025 Feb 4.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGF-A) is an angiogenic signaling protein involved in the maintenance of the cerebral vasculature. No prior study has explored whether plasma VEGF-A levels may be associated with brain functional connectivity changes, such as disruption of the default mode network (DMN), which often precedes the development of cognitive changes in aging. Seventy-six independently living older adults (mean age = 70.3 years; SD = 7.5; 31.6% male) free of dementia or clinical stroke underwent venipuncture and brain MRI. Plasma was assayed for VEGF-A. Using resting state functional MRI, region of interest (ROI) to ROI connectivity and graph theory analysis were conducted to determine average connectivity and global efficiency between each of the following ROIs comprising the DMN: medial prefrontal cortex, lateral parietal cortex and precuneus cortex. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant negative association between VEGF-A levels and DMN connectivity (B = - 0.14, 95% CI (-0.26, - 0.01), p =.038), accounting for age, sex, education, and vascular risk factors. Graph theory analysis similarly revealed that VEGF-A levels are associated with global efficiency of the entire network (B = - 0.18, p =.004). These findings suggest that VEGF-A may be elevated early in the progression of neurocognitive disorders. Whether higher levels of VEGF-A contribute to the pathogenesis of neurocognitive disorders or play a protective role in preserving cognitive function warrants further investigation. Clinical Trial Number: N/A; None.
血管内皮生长因子A（VEGF-A）是一种参与维持脑血管系统的血管生成信号蛋白。此前尚无研究探讨血浆VEGF-A水平是否可能与脑功能连接变化相关，例如默认模式网络（DMN）的破坏，这种破坏在衰老过程中认知变化的发展之前经常出现。76名独立生活的老年人（平均年龄 = 70.3岁；标准差 = 7.5；31.6%为男性），无痴呆或临床中风，接受了静脉穿刺和脑部MRI检查。检测血浆中的VEGF-A。使用静息态功能MRI，进行感兴趣区域（ROI）到ROI的连接性和图论分析，以确定构成DMN的以下每个ROI之间的平均连接性和全局效率：内侧前额叶皮质、外侧顶叶皮质和楔前叶皮质。多元线性回归分析显示，VEGF-A水平与DMN连接性之间存在显著负相关（B = -0.14，95%置信区间（-0.26，-0.01），p = 0.038），并考虑了年龄、性别、教育程度和血管危险因素。图论分析同样显示，VEGF-A水平与整个网络的全局效率相关（B = -0.18，p = 0.004）。这些发现表明，VEGF-A可能在神经认知障碍进展的早期升高。VEGF-A水平升高是否有助于神经认知障碍的发病机制或在保护认知功能中发挥保护作用，值得进一步研究。临床试验编号：无；无。
