ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the changes and clinical significance of plasma S100A1 protein, nuclear factor-κB p65 (NF-κB p65) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in patients with acute ischemic cerebrovascular diseases.Methods:A total of 141 patients with acute ischemic cerebral infarction (AICI; AICI group) and 20 patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA; TIA group) who received treatment in Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital from April to November 2020 were included in this study. According to the volume of cerebral infarct, the AICI group was subdivided into small-volume cerebral infarct (SCI group, n = 78), moderate-volume cerebral infarct (MCI group, n = 32) and large-volume cerebral infract (LCI group, n = 31) groups. An additional 31 healthy controls who concurrently received physical examination were included as controls (HC group). S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels were compared between AICI, TIA and HC groups and between SCI, MCI and LCI groups. S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels were correlated with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score and the volume of cerebral infarct. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn to analyze the diagnostic value of S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels for AICI. Results:S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels in the AICI group were (230.96 ± 39.37) ng/L, (3.99 ± 0.65) mg/L, (13.32 ± 1.57) ng/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than (185.85 ± 43.24) ng/L, (3.58 ± 0.74) mg/L, (11.61 ± 1.67) ng/L in the TIA group ( t = 4.95, 2.39, 4.14, all P < 0.05) and (181.47 ± 27.39) ng/L, (3.51 ± 0.99) mg/L, (11.42 ± 2.34) ng/L in the HC group ( t = 6.54, 3.32, 5.55, all P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels between TIA and HC groups (all P > 0.05). S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels in the LCI group were (254.25 ± 37.07) ng/L, (4.41 ± 0.45) mg/L, and (14.00 ± 1.40) ng/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than (225.42 ± 30.92) ng/L, (3.85 ± 0.64) mg/L, (12.77 ± 1.31) ng/L in the MCI group ( t = 3.04, 3.60, 3.20, all P < 0.05) and (223.98 ± 40.21) ng/L, (3.88 ± 0.66) mg/L, (13.27 ± 1.65) ng/L in the SCI group ( t = 3.79, 4.01, 2.25, all P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels between MCI and SCI groups (all P > 0.05). S100A1 and NF-κB p65 levels in patients with AICI were positively correlated with the volume of cerebral infarct ( r = 0.24, 0.27, both P < 0.05). S100A1 and IL-6 levels in patients with AICI were positively correlated with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ( r = 0.24, 0.28, both P < 0.05). The areas under the curves plotting S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels against AICI diagnosis were 0.818, 0.667 and 0.754, respectively. The optimal cutoff values were 181.03, 3.50 and 10.79, respectively. The corresponding sensitivities were 95.0%, 76.6% and 97.2%, respectively, and the specificities were 37.3%, 45.1% and 49.0%, respectively. Conclusion:Increased S100A1, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 levels in patients with AICI are closely related to the severity of AICI.