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. 2018 Aug;16(2):1014-1020.
doi: 10.3892/etm.2018.6213. Epub 2018 May 23.

Inflammatory cytokines and cells are potential markers for patients with cerebral apoplexy in intensive care unit

Jianhong Wang  1 , Zicheng Hu  2 , Shu Yang  1 , Chengchun Liu  2 , Haimei Yang  2 , Duozi Wang  1 , Fuqiang Guo  1
Affiliations

Inflammatory cytokines and cells are potential markers for patients with cerebral apoplexy in intensive care unit

Jianhong Wang et al. Exp Ther Med. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

Cerebral apoplexy is a disease caused by obstruction of the blood circulation in the brain. Evidence has indicated that inflammatory cytokines are implicated in ischaemic cerebral apoplexy and are regarded as a general cardiovascular risk factor, which may be a possible immediate trigger, a component of the response to tissue injury and a therapeutic target. The present study investigated changes of inflammatory cytokines and cells in patients with cerebral apoplexy at the intensive care unit (ICU). The plasma concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1β and IL-17A were evaluated using ELISA. Changes in the plasma concentrations of inflammatory cells were detected by using flow cytometry. The results indicated that serum levels of TNF-α, IL-4, IL-8, IL-1β and IL-17A were upregulated in patients with cerebral apoplexy compared with those in healthy individuals, while those of IL-6 and IL-10 were downregulated. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the plasma concentration of lymphocytes, granulocytes and mononuclear cells was decreased in patients with cerebral apoplexy in the ICU compared with that in healthy individuals. Of note, humoral as well as cellular inflammatory cytokines were evidently increased in patients with cerebral apoplexy in ICU. In conclusion, the present study provided evidence that inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory cells are upregulated, while anti-inflammatory cytokines are downregulated in patients with cerebral apoplexy in an ICU setting. These results suggest that anti-inflammatory interventions may be beneficial either in the prevention or acute treatment of patients with cerebral apoplexy.

Keywords: cerebral apoplexy; cytokines; inflammation; intensive care unit.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Analysis of inflammatory cells in serum of patients with cerebral apoplexy. Plasma levels of (A) lymphocytes, (B) plasmacytes, (C) neutrophils and (D) monocytes were increased in the patients with cerebral apoplexy compared with those in healthy individuals. (E and F) Patients with cerebral apoplexy had a higher percentage of (E) macrophages and (F) mast cells than healthy individuals. **P<0.01.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Analysis of inflammatory factors in patients with cerebral apoplexy. (A-E) Patients with cerebral apoplexy had higher serum levels of (A) TNF-α, (B) IL-4, (C) IL-8, (D) IL-1β and (E) IL-17A than healthy individuals. (F and G) Patients with cerebral apoplexy presented with lower serum levels of (F) IL-6 and (G) IL-10 than healthy individuals. **P<0.01. TNF, tumor necrosis factor; IL, interleukin.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Analysis of the expression of inflammatory genes in hPMCs from patients with cerebral apoplexy. (A-E) Patients with cerebral apoplexy had higher gene expression levels of (A) TNF-α, (B) IL-4, (C) IL-8, (D) IL-1β, (E) IL-17A in hPMCs than in healthy individuals (F and G) Patients with cerebral apoplexy had lower gene expression levels (F) IL-6 (G) and IL-10 than healthy individuals. **P<0.01. TNF, tumor necrosis factor; IL, interleukin.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Analysis of the imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines in patients with cerebral apoplexy. (A) Patients with cerebral apoplexy presented with lower serum levels of Th1 cytokines compared with those in healthy individuals. (B) Patients with cerebral apoplexy had higher serum levels of Th2 cytokines compared with those in healthy individuals. (C) Patients with cerebral apoplexy had an imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines compared with those in healthy volunteers. **P<0.01. Th1, type 1 T helper cell.
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