Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Jul 2022)
Role of Increased Syncytin-1 Expression in Pathogenesis of Anti-N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis
Abstract
Shan Qiao,1,2,* Quan-Ye Sun,3,* Shan-Chao Zhang,1 Ran-Ran Zhang,4 Yu-Jiao Wu,4 Zhi-Hao Wang,4 Xue-Wu Liu4,5 1Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 3Research Center of Translational Medicine, Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 5Institute of Epilepsy, Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xue-Wu Liu, Email [email protected]: Syncytin-1 may play a role in several neuropsychiatric disorders, but its function in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible mechanism of action of syncytin-1 in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis.Patients and Methods: Twenty patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and eight controls were recruited. The protein levels of syncytin-1 in serum were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the transcript levels of syncytin-1 were determined using real-time quantitative PCR. Flow cytometry was used for peripheral blood lymphocyte subset detection. Further, the relationship between syncytin-1 levels and clinical features of anti-NMDAR encephalitis and peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets was analyzed.Results: Compared with those in controls, higher syncytin-1 levels and percentage of B cells (CD3-CD19+) were observed in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Among anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients, the level of syncytin-1 positively correlated with the proportion of B cells and modified Rankin scale score at onset and after immunotherapy and negatively correlated with the proportion of CD3+ T cells.Conclusion: An increased expression of Syncytin-1 is associated with the pathogenesis of anti-NMDAR encephalitis, providing evidence for elucidating the pathogenesis of the disease and suggesting novel therapeutic targets. Further, this study clarifies the role of syncytin-1 in neuroimmune disorders.Keywords: autoimmune encephalitis, neuroinflammation, syncytin-1, B cells, pathogenesis
