Systemic immune system alterations in early stages of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Immune activation and inflammation play significant roles in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To test whether AD patients showed systemic manifestations of inflammation, blood from 41 patients with early stages of AD and 31 aged-match elderly controls were evaluated. Cellular markers for monocyte/macrophage (MO) activation and CD8 T lymphocyte were increased in early AD patients. Expression of monocyte CCR2, the receptor for monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), was decreased; however, plasma MCP-1 levels were significantly increased and were related to the degree of MO activation in AD. These findings suggest that AD pathogenesis may be influenced by systemic immunologic dysfunction and provides potential immunologic targets for therapeutic intervention.

Published by Elsevier B.V.

Figures

Figure 1

Relationship of plasma MCP-1 levels to macrophage activation/differentiation defined by CD14 co-expression of CD16 in elderly controls and patients with early stages of AD. Positive correlation of plasma MCP-1 levels with degree of CD16 expression on CD14+ monocyte in early AD (r = 0.5006, p = 0.0127, n = 24).

Figure 2

Relationship between monocyte CD16 expression and CD14+ monocyte granularity in elderly controls and patients with early stages of AD. Positive correlation of monocyte CD16 expression with CD14+ monocyte granularity in early AD (r = 0.7042, p < 0.0001, n = 41).