Objectives: 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.
Methods: 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).
Results: 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).
Conclusions: 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.
目的: 炎症反应尤其是炎症小体及炎症细胞因子的过度表达，是影响急性脑梗死发生、发展的重要原因之一，包括脑梗死的起始、梗死后损伤的进展和恢复。本研究主要探讨黑色素瘤缺乏因子2(absent in melanoma 2，AIM2)、白细胞介素-1β(interleukin-1β，IL-1β)和白细胞介素-18(interleukin-18，IL-18)在急性脑梗死患者血浆中的表达及意义。方法: 纳入急性脑梗死患者85例为脑梗死组，根据神经功能缺损严重程度、脑梗死面积及发病后第90天的改良Rankin量表(Modified Rankin Scale，mRS)评分分为轻、中及重度组，小、中及大面积组，预后良好组及预后不良组。纳入同期健康体检者85例为对照组。采用酶联免疫吸附(enzyme-linked immunosorbnent assay，ELISA)法检测AIM2、IL-1β和IL-18在这两组人群血浆中的表达水平。结果: 脑梗死组血浆AIM2、IL-1β和IL-18水平均明显高于对照组，差异均具有统计学意义(均P<0.001)。脑梗死组亚组比较示：患者血浆AIM2、IL-1β和IL-18水平在重度神经功能缺损严重程度组>中度组>轻度组，在大面积脑梗死组>中面积组>小面积组，在预后不良组>预后良好组，差异均具有统计学意义(均P<0.05)；血浆AIM2水平与美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表(National Institute of Health Stroke Scale，NIHSS)评分、脑梗死面积及mRS评分呈正相关(分别r=0.791、r=0.710、r=0.763，均P<0.001)，IL-1β水平与NIHSS评分、脑梗死面积及mRS评分呈正相关(分别r=0.716、r=0.690、r=0.688，均P<0.001)，IL-18水平与NIHSS评分、脑梗死面积及mRS评分呈正相关(分别r=0.714、r=0.638、r=0.653，均P<0.001)；血浆AIM2与IL-1β、IL-18水平呈正相关(分别r=0.828、r=0.751，均P<0.001)。结论: AIM2、IL-1β和IL-18在急性脑梗死患者血浆中表达上调，而且与急性脑梗死患者的神经功能缺损严重程度、脑梗死面积及预后密切相关，提示AIM2、IL-1β和IL-18可能在急性脑梗死的发生、发展中起重要作用。.
Keywords: absent in melanoma 2; acute cerebral infarction; interleukin-18; interleukin-1β; plasma.