Significance of expression of AIM2, IL-1β, and IL-18 in plasma of patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Abstract

Inflammation especially the overexpression of inflammasome and inflammatory cytokines, is one of the important reasons that affect the occurrence and development of acute cerebral infarction, including the initiation of cerebral infarction, the progress and recovery of post-infarction injury. This study aims to explore expressions of absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-18 (IL-18) in plasma of patients with acute cerebral infarction and its significance. A total of 85 patients with acute cerebral infarction were enrolled in the cerebral infarction group. They were assigned into mild, moderate, and severe groups according to the severity of neurological deficits. They were assigned into small, middle, and large cerebral infarction groups according to the area of cerebral infarction. They were assigned into a good prognosis group and a poor prognosis group according to the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score on the 90th day after the onset. A total of 85 healthy controls were selected as a control group. The levels of AIM2, IL-1β, and IL-18 in plasma of the cerebral group and the control group were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The levels of plasma AIM2, IL-1β, and IL-18 in the cerebral infarction group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.001). In the cerebral infarction group, the expression levels of plasma AIM2, IL-1β, and IL-18 were as follows: The severe neurological deficitc group>the moderate group>the mild group, the large area of cerebral infarction group>the middle area group>the small area group, and the poor prognosis group> the good prognosis group (all P<0.05). The levels of plasma AIM2 were positively correlated with National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, the cerebral infarction area, and the mRS score (r=0.791, r=0.710, r=0.763, respectively, all P<0.001). The levels of plasma IL-1β were positively correlated with the NIHSS score, the cerebral infarction area, and the mRS score (r=0.716, r=0.690, r=0.688, respectively, all P<0.001). The levels of plasma IL-18 were positively correlated with the NIHSS score, the cerebral infarction area, and the mRS score (r=0.714, r=0.638, r=0.653, respectively, all P<0.001). The level of plasma AIM2 was positively correlated with that of IL-1β and IL-18 (r=0.828, r=0.751, both P<0.001). Expressions of AIM2, IL-1β, and IL-18 are up-regulated in the plasma of patients with acute cerebral infarction, and they are closely related to the severity of neurological deficit, cerebral infarction area, and prognosis in patients with acute cerebral infarction, suggesting that AIM2, IL-1β, and IL-18 may play an important role in the occurrence and development of acute cerebral infarction.