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Prevalence of acute ische-mic stroke (AIS) is increased in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A proposed hypothesis is increased virus-induced propensity to hypercoagulation resulting in arterial thrombosis. Our aim was to provide evidence regarding the involvement of neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation (NETosis) in COVID-19 related AIS.Twenty-six consecutively enrolled COVID-19+ pneumonia patients with AIS, 32 COVID-19+ pneumonia patients without AIS and 24 AIS patients without COVID-19 infection were included to the study. Clinical characteristics of recruited patients were collected. Serum levels of citrullinated histone H3 (H3Cit; a factor of NETosis), IL-8 and C5a (mediators associated with NETosis) were measured by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).H3Cit levels were significantly higher in COVID-19+ AIS patients, whereas all study groups showed comparable IL-8 and C5a levels. There were no significant differences among etiological subgroups of AIS patients with or without COVID-19. AIS patients with COVID-19 showed relatively increased white blood cell, lymphocyte, neutrophil, D-dimer, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels than control groups. H3Cit levels did not correlate with clinical/prognostic features and inflammation parameters. H3Cit and IL-8 levels were correlated in COVID-19 patients without stroke but not in COVID-19 positive or negative AIS patients.Increased levels of inflammation parameters and H3Cit in COVID-19 related AIS suggest that NETosis may cause susceptibility to arterial thrombosis. However, H3Cit levels do not correlate with clinical severity measures and inflammation parameters diminishing the prognostic biomarker value of NETosis factors. Moreover, the link between IL-8 and NETosis appears to be abolished in AIS.A Covid-19-betegek körében megnő az akut ischaemiás stroke (AIS) prevalenciája. Egy hipotetikus mechanizmus szerint a vírus megnöveli a hiperkoagulációs hajlamot, ami arteriális thrombosist eredményez. Vizsgálatunk célja az volt, hogy bizonyítsuk: a neutrophil extracelluláris csapdaképződés (NETosis) közreműködik a Covid-19-cel összefüggő AIS kialakulásában.A vizsgálatba n = 26, AIS-ban szenvedő Covid-19-pneumoniás beteget, n = 32 AIS nélküli Covid-19-pneumoniás beteget és n = 24 AIS-ban igen, de Covid-19-ben nem szenvedő beteget vontunk be. Összegyűjtöttük a betegek klinikai adatait. ELISA-val mértük a citrullinált hiszton H3 (H3Cit; a NETosis egy faktora), az IL-8 és a C5a (NETosis-asszociált faktorok) szérumszintjét.A Covid-19 + AIS betegekben szignifi­kánsan magasabb volt a H3Cit-szint, míg az IL-8- és C5a-szintek hasonlóak voltak valamennyi csoportban. A covidos és nem covidos AIS-betegek etiológiaalapú alcsoportjaiban nem találtunk szignifikáns különbségeket. A kont­rollcsoportokkal összehasonlítva, a Covid-19 + AIS betegekben megemelkedett a fehérvérsejt-, a lymphocyta-, és a neutrophilszám, továbbá megnőttek a D-dimer-, C-reaktív protein- és prokalcitoninszintek. A H3Cit-szintek nem függtek össze sem a klinikai/prognosztikus jellem­zőkkel, sem a gyulladásos paraméterekkel. A H3Cit- és az IL-8-szintek összefüggésben álltak egymással az AIS nélküli Covid-19-betegek esetében, azonban nem korreláltak a Covid-pozitív vagy -negatív AIS-betegek esetén.A Covid-19-cel szövődött AIS esetében a gyulladásos paraméterek és a H3Cit megnövekedett szintje azt sugallja, hogy a NETosis arteriális thrombosis iránti fogékonyságot eredményezhet. Mindazonáltal az az eredmény, miszerint a H3Cit-szintek nem korrelálnak a klinikai súlyossággal és a gyulladásos paraméterekkel, lehetetlenné teszi a NETosis-faktorok prognosztikus biomarkerként való használatát. Ráadásul úgy tűnik, hogy az IL-8 és a NETosis közötti kapcsolat megszűnik AIS esetén.

Clinical exacerbations characterized with neurological symptoms are observed in around 10% of Behçet's disease (BD) patients and may culminate in severe disability. Although certain immunological factors have been associated with disease activity in neuro-Behçet's disease (NBD), biomarkers for monitoring the clinical outcome of NBD have not been properly investigated.Levels of neurofilament light chain (NFL), homeobox protein Hox-B3 (HoxB3), and YKL-40 were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 23 parenchymal (n = 16) and nonparenchymal (n = 7) NBD patients obtained during NBD attacks by ELISA. Parameters of clinical progression and outcome were assessed for an average follow-up period of 3.9 ± 1.3 years.Parenchymal NBD patients showed elevated CSF levels of NFL, HoxB3, and YKL-40 as compared to nonparenchymal patients. NBD patients showing an increase in modified Rankin score (mRS) values during follow-up had significantly higher CSF NFL levels. Patients with relatively lower CSF NFL levels (1000 ng/L) did not develop attacks or cognitive impairment interfering with daily life activities during follow-up. NFL levels correlated with disease duration and mRS at the last follow-up visit, while HoxB3 levels correlated with a number of attacks during follow-up.CSF level of NFL appears to predict the prospective somatic and cognitive disability in NBD patients and may thus be potentially used as a biomarker of clinical outcome in this disease.

Introduction: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels are reduced in advanced stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) and may be associated with reduced regenerative capability in progressive MS. This has brought increased attention to factors regulating BDNF production in MS. Our aim was to investigate the link between neurotrophin-regulating microRNAs (miRNA) and disease progression in MS. Materials and Methods: Serum levels of BDNF and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) expression levels of miR-132-3p, miR-106b-5p and miR-19b-3p were respectively measured by ELISA and real time PCR in twelve relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) patients, seven secondary progressive MS (SPMS) patients and fourteen healthy controls. Results: Serum BDNF levels were significantly reduced in SPMS patients, while selected miRNAs were significantly upregulated in PBMC of RRMS and SPMS patients. miR-106b-5p and miR-19b-3p respectively showed the highest sensitivity and specificity for MS diagnosis by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. There was a negative correlation between levels of BDNF and the miRNAs in RRMS. Likewise, levels of BDNF and the investigated miRNAs showed positive and negative correlations respectively with the expanded disability status scale in RRMS and SPMS patients. miR-132-3p and miR-106b-5p levels showed positive correlations with the progression index in SPMS patients. Conclusion: Our results suggest that increased disability is associated with downregulation of miR-132-3p, miR-106b-5p and miR-19b-3p in RRMS patients and putatively promotes increased production of neuroprotective BDNF as a compensatory mechanism. This link between the investigated miRNAs and BDNF in RRMS does not appears to hold for SPMS. This might be one of the factors contributing to reduced regenerative ability in the progressive stage of MS.

Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) often initiates with an acute episode of neurological disturbance, known as clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). There is an unmet need for biomarkers that differentiate patients who will convert to MS and who will remain as CIS after the first attack. Methods First attack serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 33 CIS patients were collected and these patients were divided as those who converted to MS (CIS-MS, n=17) and those who continued as CIS (CIS-CIS, n=16) in a 3-year follow-up period. Levels of homeobox protein Hox-B3 (HoxB3) and YKL-40 were measured by ELISA in samples of CIS-CIS, CIS-MS, relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) patients (n=15) and healthy controls (n=20). Results CIS-CIS patients showed significantly reduced CSF levels of YKL-40 and increased serum/CSF levels of HoxB3 compared with CIS-MS and RRMS patients. CIS-MS and RRMS patients had comparable YKL-40 and HoxB3 level profiles. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed the highest sensitivity for CSF HoxB3 measurements in prediction of CIS-MS conversion. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that CIS patients with lower CSF HoxB3 ( 654.9 ng/ml) displayed a significantly shorter time to clinically definite MS. Conclusion CSF levels of HoxB3 and YKL-40 appear to predict CIS to MS conversion, especially when applied in combination. HoxB3, which is a transcription factor involved in immune cell activity, stands out as a potential candidate molecule with biomarker capacity for MS.