Distinct inflammatory markers in primary and secondary dengue infection: can cytokines CXCL5, CXCL9, and CCL17 act as surrogate markers?

Dengue fever poses a significant global health threat, with symptoms including dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. Each year, India experiences fatal dengue outbreaks with severe manifestations. The primary cause of severe inflammatory responses in dengue is a cytokine storm. Individuals with a secondary dengue infection of a different serotype face an increased risk of complications due to antibody-dependent enhancement. Therefore, it is crucial to identify potential risk factors and biomarkers for effective disease management. In the current study, we assessed the prevalence of dengue infection in and around Aligarh, India, and explored the role of cytokines, including CXCL5, CXCL9, and CCL17, in primary and secondary dengue infections, correlating them with various clinical indices. Among 1,500 suspected cases, 367 tested positive for dengue using Real-Time PCR and ELISA. In secondary dengue infections, the serum levels of CXCL5, CXCL9, and CCL17 were significantly higher than in primary infections (P < 0.05). Dengue virus (DENV)-2 showed the highest concentrations of CXCL5 and CCL17, whereas DENV-1 showed the highest concentrations of CXCL9. Early detection of these cytokines could serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosing severe dengue, and downregulation of these cytokines may prove beneficial for the treatment of severe dengue infections.

The Concentration of Selected Inflammatory Cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, CXCL5, IL-33) and Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns (HMGB-1, HSP-70) Released in an Early Response to Distal Forearm Fracture and the Performed Closed Reduction With Kirschner Wire Fixation in Children.

The evaluation of trauma after surgery through objective analysis of biochemical markers can help in selecting the most appropriate therapy. Thus the aim of the study was the evaluation of the concentration of selected inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, CXCL5, IL-33), C-reactive protein (CRP), and damaged-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs): HMGB-1, HSP-70 in the plasma of children in response to bone fracture and 12-14 hours after subsequent surgery performed by closed reduction with percutaneous Kirschner wire fixation (CRKF). The study will answer the question if the CRFK procedure leads to excessive production of inflammatory and damage markers. Blood samples from 29 children with distal forearm fractures were collected 30 min. before CRKF procedure and 12-14 hours after performance of the procedure. The control group was composed of 17 healthy children. IL-6 and CRP concentrations were analyzed using routinely performed in vitro diagnostics tests; the remaining proteins were analyzed with the use of the ELISA method. Increased values of IL-6, CRP, and HSP-70 represented an early inflammatory response to distal forearm fractures classified as SH-II type according to the Salter-Harris classification system. However, the median CRP concentration was within the reference values not indicative of inflammation. The CRKF procedure may be a good solution for the treatment of bone fractures, as damaged associated molecular patterns - HMGB-1 and HSP-70 - did not significantly differ 12-14 hours after the approach was applied as compared to the control group. Moreover, the increase in IL-6 concentration after the CRKF procedure was 1.5-fold to the level before CRKF, while the increase of this marker in response to the distal forearm fracture was 4.3-fold compared to the control group. Based on this data, it appears reasonable to suggest that the CRKF approach caused less damage and inflammatory response in comparison to the response to the fracture itself.

Effects of Importin α1/KPNA1 deletion and adolescent social isolation stress on psychiatric disorder-associated behaviors in mice.

Importin α1/KPNA1 is a member of the Importin α family widely present in the mammalian brain and has been characterized as a regulator of neuronal differentiation, synaptic functionality, and anxiety-like behavior. In humans, a de novo mutation of the KPNA1 (human Importin α5) gene has been linked with schizophrenia; however, the precise roles of KPNA1 in disorder-related behaviors are still unknown. Moreover, as recent studies have highlighted the importance of gene-environment interactions in the development of psychiatric disorders, we investigated the effects of Kpna1 deletion and social isolation stress, a paradigm that models social stress factors found in human patients, on psychiatric disorder-related behaviors in mice. Through assessment in a behavioral battery, we found that Kpna1 knockout resulted in the following behavioral phenotype: (1) decreased anxiety-like behavior in an elevated plus maze test, (2) short term memory deficits in novel object recognition test (3) impaired sensorimotor gating in a prepulse inhibition test. Importantly, exposure to social isolation stress resulted in additional behavioral abnormalities where isolated Kpna1 knockout mice exhibited: (1) impaired aversive learning and/or memory in the inhibitory avoidance test, as well as (2) increased depression-like behavior in the forced swim test. Furthermore, we investigated whether mice showed alterations in plasma levels of stress-associated signal molecules (corticosterone, cytokines, hormones, receptors), and found that Kpna1 knockout significantly altered levels of corticosterone and LIX (CXCL5). Moreover, significant decreases in the level of prolactin were found in all groups except for group-housed wild type mice. Our findings demonstrate that Kpna1 deletion can trigger widespread behavioral abnormalities associated with psychiatric disorders, some of which were further exacerbated by exposure to adolescent social isolation. The use of Kpna1 knockout mice as a model for psychiatric disorders may show promise for further investigation of gene-environment interactions involved in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders.

Hsa-miR-605 regulates the proinflammatory chemokine CXCL5 in complex regional pain syndrome.

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain condition characterized by inflammation and debilitating pain. CRPS patients with pain refractory to more conventional analgesics can be treated with subanesthetic doses of ketamine. Our previous studies found that poor responders to ketamine had a 22-fold downregulation of the miRNA hsa-miR-605 in blood prior to ketamine treatment. Hence, we sought to investigate the functional significance of miR-605 downregulation and its impact on target gene expression, as investigating target mRNAs of differentially expressed miRNAs can provide important insights on aberrant gene expression that may contribute to disease etiology. Using a bioinformatics prediction, we identified that miR-605 can target the proinflammatory chemokine CXCL5, which plays a role in leukocyte recruitment and activation. We hypothesized that downregulation of miR-605 in poor responders to ketamine could increase CXCL5 expression and thereby contribute to inflammation in these patients. We confirmed that miR-605 regulates CXCL5 by using a miRNA mimic and inhibitor in human primary endothelial cells. Inhibition of miR-605 increased CXCL5 secretion and migration of human monocytic cells, thereby demonstrating a functional impact of miR-605 on chemotaxis. Additionally, CXCL5 mRNA was upregulated in whole blood from poor responders to ketamine, and CXCL5 protein was increased in plasma from CRPS patients. Thus, our studies suggest that miR-605 regulation of CXCL5 can regulate inflammation.

Chemokine Profiles Are Affected in Serum of Patients with Acute Rejection of Kidney Allograft.

Kidney allograft transplantation improved the prognosis and quality of life of patients with end-stage renal diseases but the occurrence of acute rejection represents a limitation of the final outcome. Noninvasive biomarkers are needed as well as further advancements in the understanding of immune mechanisms of reaction to the allograft. Our study of 138 patients focused on one-year monitoring of serum concentrations of 12 chemokines regulating the recruitment of different immune cells into transplanted allograft and on in vitro regulation of the same chemokines release by interactions of renal proximal epithelial cells with monocyte/macrophage cell line stimulated with TNF alpha. In a group of 44 patients with acute rejection, higher serum pretransplant levels of CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL6, CCL2, CCL21, and particularly CXCL10 and CX3CL1(both p < 0.001) were found suggesting their higher proinflammatory status as compared to subjects with the uncomplicated outcome. In samples collected at the day of biopsy positive for acute rejection, chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL11 attracting preferentially Th1 lymphocytes were found to be upregulated. In our in vitro model with TNF alpha induction, renal proximal epithelial cells seemed to be a more potent source of chemokines attracting neutrophils as compared to monocyte/macrophage cell line but the coculture of these cells potentiated release of neutrophilic chemokines CXCL5 and CXCL6. Similar augmentation of chemokine production was found also in the case of CCL2. On the other hand, adding of monocytes/macrophages to a culture of renal epithelial cells suppressed the release of CXCL10 and CXCL11 attracting T lymphocytes. We assume from our data that in kidney allograft transplantation, chemokines attracting neutrophils, T lymphocytes, and monocytes are induced simultaneously and measurement some of them in combination might be used as biomarkers of acute rejection. Mutual cell-cell interactions of immune cells with renal parenchyma seem to be important for fine regulation of chemokine release.

Serum CXCL5 level is associated with tumor progression in penile cancer.

Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 5 is an important regulator of tumor progression in many cancers, and could serve as potential serum cancer biomarker. Our initial analysis identified CXCL5 as a cancer-related gene highly expressed in PC. Patients with PC exhibited markedly higher preoperative serum CXCL5 levels compared with that in healthy individuals (P<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.880 with the sensitivity of 84.0%, and specificity of 80.4% to distinguish PC. Serum CXCL5 levels were also significantly decreased following tumor resection in patients with PC (P=0.001). Preoperative serum CXCL5 level was significantly associated with clinicopathological characteristics including T stage (P=0.001), nodal status (P<0.001), and pelvic lymph node metastasis (P=0.018). Cox regression analysis showed that serum CXCL5 level could serve as an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival with a HR of 6.363 (95% CI: 2.185-18.531, P=0.001). CXCL5 and its receptor CXCR2 exhibited correlated expression pattern in PC tissues. Differential CXCL5 expression was observed in normal penile tissues, PC cell lines, and their culture supernatants. Furthermore, knockdown of CXCL5 or CXCR2 expression markedly suppressed malignant phenotypes (cell proliferation, clonogenesis, apoptosis escape, migration, and invasion), attenuated STAT3 and AKT signaling, and reduced MMP2/9 secretion in PC cell lines. In conclusion, our findings revealed that serum CXCL5 level might serve as a potential diagnostic and prognostic cancer biomarker for penile cancer. Autocrine CXCL5/CXCR2 signaling might activate multiple downstream oncogenic signaling pathways (STAT3, AKT, MMP2/9) to promote malignant progression of PC, which may warrant further investigation in the future.

Preliminary observation of chemokine expression in patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection.

Stanford type A Aortic dissection (TAAD) is a deadly cardiovascular disease but the relationship between inflammatory cytokines and disease pathogenesis is still unclear. Observation of the changes of different chemokines may help to explore the etiology of TAAD much further. Clinical data was collected from TAAD patients (TAAD group) and healthy controls (HC group) in our institute between October 2013 and December 2014. Blood sample was harvested from each subject of two groups. The expression levels of eighty chemokines were examined by protein array technology. Then we tested the expressions of macrophage inflammatory protein 1ß (MIP-1ß), epithelial neutrophil activating peptide 78 (ENA-78), interleukin 16 (IL-16), interferon inducible protein 10 (IP-10), and FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (Flt-3) ligand by using luminex technology. Osteopontin (OPN) and monocyte chemotaxis protein (MCP) levels were analyzed by ELISA kits. The mean age of TAAD group is 49.9 ±â€¯11.2 and 48.7 ±â€¯9.9 in HC group, respectively. 76.0% of TAAD patients and 72.0% of healthy controls were male. MIP-1ß and ENA-78 expression in TAAD group were significantly lower than that in HC group, while significant increasing IL-16 level was found. Plasma levels of OPN in TAAD group increased remarkably compared with HC group, but MCP-1 and MCP-2 expression significantly decreased. No correlation was shown between serum CRP levels and plasma level of these cytokines by using Spearman analysis. ROC analysis showed that OPN could be indicators for TAAD diagnosis with sensitivity of 0.92 and specificity of 0.99. Our results provide a reasonable way to focus on the chemokines in understanding the pathogenesis of human TAAD.

IL-17A Contributes to Lung Fibrosis in a Model of Chronic Pulmonary Graft-versus-host Disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pulmonary graft-versus-host disease (cpGVHD) after hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) manifests as progressive airway and parenchymal lung fibrosis. On the basis of our prior data, mice that undergo allogeneic HCT with Tbet-knockout donors (AlloTbet) have increased lung Th17 cells and IL-17A and develop fibrosis resembling human cpGVHD. The role of IL-17A in posttransplant pulmonary fibrosis remains incompletely understood. We hypothesized that IL-17A is necessary for development of murine cpGVHD in this model. METHODS: AlloTbet mice received weekly intraperitoneal anti-IL-17A or IgG (200 µg/mouse) starting 2 weeks post-HCT and were sacrificed after week 5. Histologic airway and parenchymal fibrosis were semiquantitatively graded in a blinded fashion. Lung cells and proteins were measured by flow cytometry, ELISA, and multicytokine assays. RESULTS: Anti-IL-17A modestly decreased airway and parenchymal lung fibrosis, along with a striking reduction in pulmonary neutrophilia, IL-6, MIP-1α, MIP-1ß, CXCL1, and CXCL5 in AlloTbet mice. Additionally, anti-IL-17A decreased CCL2, inflammatory monocytes and macrophages, and Th17 cells. CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of murine AlloHCT with Tbet donors, IL-17A blockade decreases fibrotic features of cpGVHD. This may be mediated by the observed reduction in neutrophils or specific lung monocyte and macrophage populations or alternatively via a direct effect on fibroblasts. Collectively, our results further suggest that anti-IL-17A strategies could prove useful in preventing alloimmune-driven fibrotic lung diseases.

ENA-78 Is a Novel Predictor of Wound Healing in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic foot ulceration is a severe complication of diabetes, driving morbidity and mortality. The aim of our study was to identify novel biomarkers of impaired wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers. METHODS: 109 patients with neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers and 30 burn victims otherwise healthy participated. Antibody-coated glass slide arrays were used to determine the levels of 80 human cytokines in pooled plasma or pooled wound exudate of diabetic foot ulcers with rapidly healing (RH, n = 12) and matched nonhealing (NH, n = 12) patients. Potential biomarkers were confirmed in an independent cohort by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Protein array profiling identified 27 proteins or 15 proteins significantly altered in protein profiling of pooled plasma or pooled wound exudate of 12 RH patients compared with 12 matched NH patients, respectively. In an independent cohort, quantitative ELISA validation confirmed a decrease in MCP-2 and ENA-78 levels in NH patients versus RH patients or burn victims. After adjusting for the traditional risk factors (sex, age, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, ulcer area, HbA1C, diabetes duration, hyperlipidemia, and antibiotic therapy), only wound exudate level of ENA-78 remained having a significant association with an increased odds ratio (OR) for wound healing by binary logistic regression analysis (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Decreased wound exudate ENA-78 was independently associated with wound healing of patients with diabetic foot. Exudate ENA-78 level is implicated as a novel predictor of wound healing in patients with diabetic foot ulcers.

Implication of CXCL5 (epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide 78) in the development of insulin resistance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: The chemokine molecule CXCL5 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 5, also known as epithelial neutrophil activating peptide 78 -ENA78-) constitutes a link between obesity, inflammation and insulin resistance (IR) in the general population. CXCL5 has also been found to play a role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. Since chronic inflammation promotes IR and impairs pancreatic beta cell function in RA patients, we assessed the role of CXCL5 in the development of IR in RA. METHODS: Cross-sectional study that encompassed 141 non-diabetic patients with RA. IR assessed by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2), insulin and C-peptide serum levels and lipid profile, and CXCL5 serum levels were studied. Regression analysis was performed to evaluate how CXCL5 was related to IR, disease activity, and disease characteristics in RA patients. RESULTS: HOMA2-IR indexes showed high values for both IR and beta cell production (%B), and low insulin sensitivity (%S) in patients with RA. C reactive protein (beta coef. 0.2 [95%CI -1.5-1.9], p=0.80) and disease activity through DAS28 (beta coef. 13 [95%CI -14-41], p=0.34) revealed no relation with CXCL5. Other disease characteristics, such as disease duration, serological status, or use of methotrexate or anti-TNF alpha therapies, were not associated with CXCL5 serum levels. While glucocorticoids were related to insulin, C-peptide serum levels, and HOMA2-IR and HOMA2-%B-C peptide, the use of prednisone was not associated with CXCL5 serum levels. Insulin and C peptide serum levels and IR indexes showed strong correlations among each other, but not with CXCL5 (insulin r2=-0.034, p=0.69; C peptide r2=-0.050, p=0.56). CONCLUSIONS: CXCL5 is not related to IR in RA patients. Therefore, the mechanisms leading to IR in patients with RA may be different from those in the general population.

Identification of Novel Natural Substrates of Fibroblast Activation Protein-alpha by Differential Degradomics and Proteomics.

Fibroblast activation protein-alpha (FAP) is a cell-surface transmembrane-anchored dimeric protease. This unique, constitutively active serine protease has both dipeptidyl aminopeptidase and endopeptidase activities and can hydrolyze the post-proline bond. FAP expression is very low in adult organs but is upregulated by activated fibroblasts in sites of tissue remodeling, including fibrosis, atherosclerosis, arthritis and tumors. To identify the endogenous substrates of FAP, we immortalized primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from FAP gene knockout embryos and then stably transduced them to express either enzymatically active or inactive FAP. The MEF secretomes were then analyzed using degradomic and proteomic techniques. Terminal amine isotopic labeling of substrates (TAILS)-based degradomics identified cleavage sites in collagens, many other extracellular matrix (ECM) and associated proteins, and lysyl oxidase-like-1, CXCL-5, CSF-1, and C1qT6, that were confirmed in vitro In addition, differential metabolic labeling coupled with quantitative proteomic analysis also implicated FAP in ECM-cell interactions, as well as with coagulation, metabolism and wound healing associated proteins. Plasma from FAP-deficient mice exhibited slower than wild-type clotting times. This study provides a significant expansion of the substrate repertoire of FAP and provides insight into the physiological and potential pathological roles of this enigmatic protease.

Early Biomarkers in Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a frequent serious disease of the digestive system in neonates. It is considered as an important cause of serious neonatal complication and death. Therefore, its early suspicion and proper management are important. AIM: Early and sensitive detection of neonatal NEC through determination of levels of fecal calprotectin (FCP), serum levels of procalcitonin (PCT), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), epithelial neutrophil activating peptide-78 (ENA-78), and interleukin 18 (IL-18). METHOD: This prospective case control study was conducted in Tanta University Hospital from June 2016 to March 2018. The study included 20 healthy neonates (control group) and 20 NEC newborn patients. They were all subjected to the measurement of levels of FCP and serum levels of hs-CRP, PCT, ENA-78, IL-18, Malondialdehyde (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted for FCP, ENA-78, PCT, hs-CRP, and IL-18. RESULTS: The study found a detectable increase in FCP level and serum levels of hs-CRP, PCT, ENA-78, IL-18, and MDA in NEC group in comparison to their levels in the control group. Also, it found a detectable decline in the levels of TAC in comparison to its level in the control group. CONCLUSION: FCP, ENA-78, and PCT can be considered as early markers for diagnosis of NEC.

Clinical Value of CXCL5 for Determining of Colorectal Cancer

Background: Several studies indicate that chemokines play important roles in colorectal mucosal immunity. The chemokine CXCL5 which is expressed by epithelial cells within colorectal mucosa is a promoter of cell proliferation, migration and invasion, is a novel serum prognostic marker in patients with colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether serum and tissue CXCL5 levels is altered in colorectal carcinomas (CRC) compared to colonic adenoma and normal mucosa.It also aimed to compare colon adenoma and colorectal cancer for blood CXCL5 and CEA levels, their sensitivity, and specificity. Methods: CXCL5 expression was assessed with immunohistochemistry staining in biopsy samples taken during colonoscopy in 22 colonic adenomas, 23 colorectal carcinomas and 23 normal colonic tissue samples. Also all patients' serum CXCL5 and CEA levels were measured. This stduy was prospective observational study. Results: The number of cases who were stained positive with immunohistochemistry was found to be higher in the group with CRC. When compared with the other groups, both levels of serum CXCL5 and CEA were significantly high in the group CRC. Sensitivity and specificity of serum CXCL5 were found to be low as a result of the ROC analysis. Conclusion: Although the level of CXCL5 is high in CRC, its level in serum is not significant enough to support the early diagnosis of the disease.

Development of a bifunctional nanobiosensor for screening and detection of chemokine ligand in colorectal cancer cell line.

Highly sensitive detection of chemokines in various biological matrices and its interaction with a natural receptor molecule has tremendous importance in cell signaling, medical diagnostics, and therapeutics. In this direction, we have designed the first bifunctional nanobiosensor for chemokine screening and detection in a single experimental setting. The sensor probe was fabricated by immobilizing CXCR2 on the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) deposited 2,2':5',2''-terthiophene-3' (p-benzoic acid) (TBA) nanocomposite film. The interaction between CXCR2 and chemokines was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and voltammetry. CXCL5 among three ligands showed the strongest affinity to CXCR2, which was further utilized to develop an amperometric CXCL5 biosensor. Analytical parameters, such as CXCR2 receptor concentration, temperature, pH, and incubation time were optimized to obtain the high sensitivity. A dynamic range for CXCL5 detection was obtained between 0.1 and 10ng/mL with the detection limit of 0.078 ± 0.004ng/mL (RSD < 4.7%). The proposed biosensor was successfully applied to detect CXCL5 in clinically relevant concentrations in human serum and colorectal cancer cells samples with high sensitivity and selectivity. Interference effect and the stability of the developed biosensor were also evaluated. Method verification was performed by comparing the results using commercially available ELISA kit for CXCL5 detection.

Increased serum production of soluble CD163 and CXCL5 in patients with moyamoya disease: Involvement of intrinsic immune reaction in its pathogenesis.

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare cerebrovascular disease characterized by a progressive stenosis at the terminal portion of the internal carotid artery and an abnormal vascular network at the base of the brain. Although its etiology is still unknown, intrinsic immune reactions such as autoimmune response has been implicated in the pathogenesis of MMD. Recently, the RING finger protein 213 (RNF213) was found to be an important risk gene for MMD, and is predominantly expressed in blood cells and the spleen. Thus, we hypothesized that patients with MMD represent an intrinsic autoimmune status mediated by M2-polarized macrophages, which play an important role in tissue remodeling and angiogenesis. We compared the serum level of soluble (s)CD163, an activating marker for CD163+ M2-polarized macrophages that has been implicated in a variety of autoimmune disorders, between MMD patients and healthy controls. We also analyzed serum levels of CXCL5, an augmented cytokines that has been correlated with the severity of autoimmune diseases. As a result, the serum sCD163 levels of MMD patients (281,465 pg/ml) were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (174,842 pg/ml) (p = .004). The serum CXCL5 levels of MMD patients (679.02 pg/ml) were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (401.79 pg/ml) (p = .046). There were no differences in the serum sCD163 and CXCL5 levels between each genotype of the RNF213 polymorphism (wild-type or variant) among MMD patients. Although this is a pilot study and further validation with larger number of samples is necessary, our results indicate that patients with MMD may have increased autoimmune activity, and our results shed light on the pathogenesis of MMD via CD163+ M2-polarized macrophages.

Clinical Evidence Supports a Protective Role for CXCL5 in Coronary Artery Disease.

Our goal was to measure the association of CXCL5 and molecular phenotypes associated with coronary atherosclerosis severity in patients at least 65 years old. CXCL5 is classically defined as a proinflammatory chemokine, but its role in chronic inflammatory diseases, such as coronary atherosclerosis, is not well defined. We enrolled individuals who were at least 65 years old and undergoing diagnostic cardiac catheterization. Coronary artery disease (CAD) severity was quantified in each subject via coronary angiography by calculating a CAD score. Circulating CXCL5 levels were measured from plasma, and both DNA genotyping and mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were quantified via microarray gene chips. We observed a negative association of CXCL5 levels with CAD at an odds ratio (OR) of 0.46 (95% CI, 0.27-0.75). Controlling for covariates, including sex, statin use, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, self-reported race, smoking, and diabetes, the OR was not significantly affected [OR, 0.54 (95% CI, 0.31-0.96)], consistent with a protective role for CXCL5 in coronary atherosclerosis. We also identified 18 genomic regions with expression quantitative trait loci of genes correlated with both CAD severity and circulating CXCL5 levels. Our clinical findings are consistent with the emerging link between chemokines and atherosclerosis and suggest new therapeutic targets for CAD.

CCL-2 as a possible early marker for remission after traumatic spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective observational study. OBJECTIVES: To describe the correlation between CCL-2, CCL-3, CCL-4 and CXCL-5 serum levels and remission after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in a human protocol compared with animal studies. SETTING: Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz). METHODS: We examined the serum levels of CCL-2, CCL-3, CCL-4 and CXCL-5 over a 12-week period; in particular, at admission and 4, 9 and 12 h, 1 and 3 days and 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after trauma. According to our study design, we matched 10 patients with TSCI and neurological remission with 10 patients with an initial ASIA A grade and no neurological remission. In all, 10 patients with vertebral fracture without neurological deficits served as control. Our analysis was performed using a Luminex Cytokine Panel. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the predictive value with respect to neurological remission vs no neurological remission. RESULTS: The results of our study showed differences in the serum expression patterns of CCL-2 in association with the neurological remission (CCL-2 at admission P=0.013). Serum levels of CCL-2 and CCL-4 were significantly different in patients with and without neurological remission. The favored predictive model resulted in an area under the curve (AUC) of 93.1% in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that peripheral serum analysis is a suitable concept for predicting the patient's potential for neurological remission after TSCI. Furthermore, the initial CCL-2 concentration provides an additional predictive value compared with the NLI (neurological level of injury). Therefore, the present study introduces a promising approach for future monitoring concepts and tracking techniques for current therapies. The results indicate that future investigations with an enlarged sample size are needed in order to develop monitoring, prognostic and scoring systems.

Reduced ENA78 levels as novel biomarker for major depressive disorder and venlafaxine efficiency: Result from a prospective longitudinal study.

Although lines of evidence demonstrated that cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD), none of the them have been established as reliable biomarkers. We use our previous whole-genome cRNA microarray data to identify epithelial cell-derived neutrophil-activating peptide 78 (ENA78), the most differentially expressed cytokine in peripheral blood between MDD patients and healthy controls; and then we confirmed the result by the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for mRNA and protein level, respectively, in an independent drug-naïve first-episode sample set. In addition, to replicate the role of plasma ENA 78 in MDD, and determine the role of ENA78 on the venlafaxine efficiency, we further detected the plasma ENA78 in another independent 8- week follow-up sample set. We found that both of mRNA and plasma of ENA78 decreased in MDD patients, and displayed much lower after venlafaxine treatment. We also found that venlafaxine non-responders had lower level of peripheral plasma ENA78 prior to treatment than responders. Our findings for the first time provided strong evidence that the ENA78 may play a key role of mediator in pathogenesis of MDD and in the mechanism of vinlafaxine effects on MDD indicating that reduced ENA78 may be a potential biomarker for diagnosing of MDD and predicting of response to venlafaxine.

Neutrophil infiltration mediated by CXCL5 accumulation in the laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma microenvironment: A mechanism by which tumour cells escape immune surveillance.

The CXCL5 chemokine is important for neutrophil accumulation in tumour tissues. In this report, we attempted to clarify whether and how infiltrating tumour-associated neutrophils (TANs) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) affect the proliferation and activation of T cells. We examined chemokine expression by real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and performed an immunohistochemical analysis of LSCC microarrays. The relationship between CXCL5 and CD66b (a neutrophil marker) was investigated by immunofluorescence staining. We found that CXCL5 was upregulated in LSCC tissues, whereas CXCL5 levels were decreased in LSCC patient serum. Furthermore, high levels of CXCL5 were significantly correlated with intratumoural neutrophil infiltration. Compared with peripheral blood neutrophils (PBNs), TANs significantly inhibited T cell proliferation and decreased IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion. These data suggest that excessive neutrophil infiltration is associated with advanced clinical stages of LSCC (T3 or T4, III or IV, and N1 or N2).