Sharief M K, Noori M A, Ciardi M, Cirelli A, Thompson E J
Department of Neurochemistry, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK.
J Neuroimmunol. 1993 Mar;43(1-2):15-21. doi: 10.1016/0165-5728(93)90070-f.
The mechanism for the initiation of blood-brain barrier damage and intrathecal inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) is poorly understood. We have recently reported that levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) correlate with blood-brain barrier damage in patients with active MS. Stimulation of endothelial cells by TNF-alpha induces the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), which is an important early marker of immune activation and response. We report herein for the first time the detection of high levels of free circulating ICAM-1 in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with active MS. Levels of circulating ICAM-1 in these patients correlated with CSF pleocytosis, TNF-alpha levels and blood-brain barrier damage. These findings have important implications for the understanding and investigation of the intrathecal inflammatory response in active MS.
多发性硬化症（MS）中血脑屏障损伤和鞘内炎症引发的机制目前仍知之甚少。我们最近报告称，肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）水平与活动性MS患者的血脑屏障损伤相关。TNF-α刺激内皮细胞可诱导细胞间黏附分子-1（ICAM-1）的表达，而ICAM-1是免疫激活和反应的重要早期标志物。我们在此首次报告，在活动性MS患者的血清和脑脊液中检测到高水平的游离循环ICAM-1。这些患者的循环ICAM-1水平与脑脊液细胞增多、TNF-α水平及血脑屏障损伤相关。这些发现对于理解和研究活动性MS中的鞘内炎症反应具有重要意义。
