Frontiers in Neurology (Feb 2020)

Increased CSF Soluble TREM2 Concentration in Patients With Neurosyphilis

  • Wurong Li,
  • Wurong Li,
  • Wurong Li,
  • Haoxiao Chang,
  • Haoxiao Chang,
  • Wenqing Wu,
  • Dongmei Xu,
  • Meijuan Jiang,
  • Junhua Gao,
  • Yuming Huang,
  • Yun Xu,
  • Yun Xu,
  • Linlin Yin,
  • Linlin Yin,
  • Xinghu Zhang,
  • Xinghu Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2020.00062
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Objective: To explore cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2) and neurofilament light proteins (NFL) in patients with neurosyphilis (NS).Methods: We enrolled 71 NS patients (41 early-NS and 30 late-NS patients) and 20 syphilis but non-NS patients whose CSF samples were collected. The CSF levels of the microglial activation biomarker sTREM2 and neuronal injury biomarker NFL were measured using ELISA.Results: CSF sTREM2 levels were significantly higher in NS patients compared to those in syphilis/non-NS patients (p < 0.001). In a subgroup analysis, the CSF sTREM2 levels elevated significantly in late-NS patients than those in early-NS patients (p < 0.001). The CSF sTREM2 levels in early-NS group were also significantly higher than those in syphilis/non-NS group (p = 0.024). Like CSF sTREM2, similar differences between groups were also found in CSF NFL. There was a moderate correlation between CSF sTREM2 and CSF NFL (r = 0.406, p < 0.001) in NS group.Conclusions: CSF sTREM2 levels elevated in NS and peaked at the late stage, suggesting that CSF sTREM2 may be a useful marker to quantify microglia activation in NS and may play a role in the progression of NS. The positive correlation between CSF sTREM2 and CSF NFL indicates a linkage between microglial activation and neuronal injury in NS.

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