Chemokines in CSF of Alzheimer's disease patients

Some studies have linked the presence of chemokines to the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Then, the identification of these mediators may contribute to diagnosis. Our objective was to evaluate the levels of beta-amyloid (BA), tau, phospho-tau (p-tau) and chemokines (CCL2, CXCL8 and CXCL10) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with AD and healthy controls. The correlation of these markers with clinical parameters was also evaluated. The levels of p-tau were higher in AD compared to controls, while the tau/p-tau ratio was decreased. The expression of CCL2 was increased in AD. A positive correlation was observed between BA levels and all chemokines studied, and between CCL2 and p-tau levels. Our results suggest that levels of CCL2 in CSF are involved in the pathogenesis of AD and it may be an additional useful biomarker for monitoring disease progression.