engleski

The level of tumor necrosis-alpha factor in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis

Tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) concentration was measured in CSF of 21 patients with active multiple sclerosis (MS), 10 patients with radiculopathy (RP), 9 patients with insultus cerebrovascularis (ICV) and 6 patients with other neurologic disease (OND ; cephalea, migraine, vertigo and aphasia). The cytokine was determined by sensitive bioassay with WEHI 164, clone 13 cells. TNF-a was positive (the values > 12/pg/ml) in 5 out 21 (24%) patients with MS. It was also positive in 3/10 (30%) patients with RP and in 1/9 (11%) patients with CVI, and was absent in all six patients with OND. Almost all CSF samples which had no TNF-a activity enhanced (facilitated) the growth of WEHI 164 cells in comparison to growth of the same cells in medium alone. This enhancement of growth could not be inhibited with monoclonal antibodies against human nerve growth (hNGFR) receptor, nor the recombinant hNGF had any effect on growth of WEHI 164 cells. About 40% of this CSF facilitating activity could be inactivated by heating of CSFs at 70° C for 30 minutes, and the rest of the activity was termostabile. Mixing experiments have shown that CSFs contain a factor which block the activity of recombinant human TNF-a, indicating that the activity of endogenous TNF-a in MS patients might be masked by this factor.

tumor necrosis-alpha factor ; multiple sclerosis ; cerebrospinal fluid

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