Inflammatory intrathecal profiles and cortical damage in multiple sclerosis

• Published in: Annals of neurology Vol. 83; no. 4; pp. 739 - 755
• Main Authors: Magliozzi, Roberta, Howell, Owain W., Nicholas, Richard, Cruciani, Carolina, Castellaro, Marco, Romualdi, Chiara, Rossi, Stefania, Pitteri, Marco, Benedetti, Maria Donata, Gajofatto, Alberto, Pizzini, Francesca B., Montemezzi, Stefania, Rasia, Sarah, Capra, Ruggero, Bertoldo, Alessandra, Facchiano, Francesco, Monaco, Salvatore, Reynolds, Richard, Calabrese, Massimiliano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2018
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; APRIL protein; Autopsy; Biomarkers; BLyS protein; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - pathology; Cerebrospinal fluid; Cohort Studies; Cortex; CXCL10 protein; CXCL12 protein; CXCL13 protein; Cytokines; Cytokines - cerebrospinal fluid; Damage detection; Demyelination; Diagnosis; Disease Progression; Female; Gelatinase A; Gene expression; Gray Matter - diagnostic imaging; Gray Matter - pathology; Humans; Identification methods; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Inflammation; Interleukin 1; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 2; Interleukin 22; Interleukin 6; Interleukin 8; Light levels; Lymphocytes B; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Meninges; Meninges - diagnostic imaging; Meninges - metabolism; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - cerebrospinal fluid; Multiple Sclerosis - diagnostic imaging; Multiple Sclerosis - pathology; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Patients; ROC Curve; Substantia grisea; γ-Interferon
• DOI: 10.1002/ana.25197
• ISSN: 0364-5134; 1531-8249

Objective Gray matter (GM) damage and meningeal inflammation have been associated with early disease onset and a more aggressive disease course in multiple sclerosis (MS), but can these changes be identified in the patient early in the disease course? Methods To identify possible biomarkers linking meningeal inflammation, GM damage, and disease severity, gene and protein expression were analyzed in meninges and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 27 postmortem secondary progressive MS and 14 control cases. Combined cytokine/chemokine CSF profiling and 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed at diagnosis in 2 independent cohorts of MS patients (35 and 38 subjects) and in 26 non‐MS patients. Results Increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IFNγ, TNF, IL2, and IL22) and molecules related to sustained B‐cell activity and lymphoid‐neogenesis (CXCL13, CXCL10, LTα, IL6, and IL10) was detected in the meninges and CSF of postmortem MS cases with high levels of meningeal inflammation and GM demyelination. Similar proinflammatory patterns, including increased levels of CXCL13, TNF, IFNγ, CXCL12, IL6, IL8, and IL10, together with high levels of BAFF, APRIL, LIGHT, TWEAK, sTNFR1, sCD163, MMP2, and pentraxin III, were detected in the CSF of MS patients with higher levels of GM damage at diagnosis. Interpretation A common pattern of intrathecal (meninges and CSF) inflammatory profile strongly correlates with increased cortical pathology, both at the time of diagnosis and at death. These results suggest a role for detailed CSF analysis combined with MRI as a prognostic marker for more aggressive MS. Ann Neurol 2018 Ann Neurol 2018;83:739–755