Identification of cytokines for early prediction of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed to profile cytokines in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (MMI) and non-acute cerebral infarction (NACI), and identify potential cytokines for early prediction of MMI. Materials and methods: A total of 16 subjects were recruited, including 8 patients with MMI and 8 patients with NACI. Cytokine profiles and levels in serums were analyzed by Quantibody® Human Cytokine Antibody Array700. The two-tailed Student t-test and Fisher's Exact Test were respectively conducted for continuous variables and categorical variables to evaluate their differences between patients with MMI and those with NACI. Binary logistic regression was further conducted to verify the association of differentially expressed cytokines with MMI. Results: The concentrations of 320 unique inflammatory cytokines in serums were measured. Ten cytokines were discovered to be differentially expressed between patients with MMI and patients with NACI, including transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFB1), matrix metallopeptidase 10 (MMP10), neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1), interleukin-27 (IL27), epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 6 (IGFBP6), platelet-derived growth factor subunit A (PDGFA), C-C motif chemokine 2 (C-C CCL2), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (Lipocalin 2) and lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronic acid receptor 1 (LYVE1). Among these cytokines, the concentrations of NCAM1, IGFBP6, Lipocalin2 and LYVE1 were significantly higher while the concentrations of the other six cytokines were significantly lower in patients with MMI compared with those in patients with NACI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis verified the association of these 10 cytokines with MMI except for IL-27 (p = 0.5422). Conclusions: Nine cytokines, including NCAM1, IGFBP6, Lipocalin2, LYVE1, TGFB1, MMP10, EGF, PDGFA and CCL2, might act as potential markers for early prediction of MMI and involve in the progression from NACI to MMI. Further studies with a better control group are still needed.