Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2012, 13(10), 12656-12664; doi:10.3390/ijms131012656
Article

Relation between Pro-inflammatory Cytokines and Acetylcholine Levels in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Marcella Reale 1,* email, Federica de Angelis 2 email, Marta di Nicola 1 email, Elisabetta Capello 3 email, Maria di Ioia 4 , Giovanna de Luca 4 , Alessandra Lugaresi 4 email and Ada Maria Tata 2,* email
1 Department of Experimental and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara, Via Dei Vestini, 31 66100 Chieti, Italy 2 Department of Biology and Biotechnologies Charles Darwin, Sapienza, University of Rome, Research Center of Neurobiology D. Bovet, P.le Aldo Moro, 5 00185 Roma, Italy 3 Department of Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Genetics, University of Genova, 16126 Genova, Italy 4 Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, University “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 1 August 2012; in revised form: 6 September 2012 / Accepted: 27 September 2012 / Published: 3 October 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Research of Multiple Sclerosis)
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Abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disorder. Since acetylcholine (ACh) is known to participate in the inflammatory response, we investigated the possible relationship between pro-inflammatory cytokines and acetylcholine levels in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) patients. Levels of ACh and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL1-β and IL-17 were measured both in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and sera of 22 RR-MS patients in the relapsing phase and in 17 control subjects affected by other non-neurological diseases (OND). We observed higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β and IL-17 in both CSF and serum of RR-MS patients compared to control subjects. Moreover, ACh levels were lower in CSF and serum of RR-MS patients compared to levels of control subjects. Although the relationship between high inflammatory cytokine levels and low ACh levels need to be further investigated in the future, our data suggest that IL-1β, and cytokines induced by it, such as IL-17 and ACh, may be involved in the pathogenesis of MS.
Keywords: acetylcholine; pro-inflammatory cytokines; multiple sclerosis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Reale, M.; de Angelis, F.; di Nicola, M.; Capello, E.; di Ioia, M.; Luca, G.D.; Lugaresi, A.; Tata, A.M. Relation between Pro-inflammatory Cytokines and Acetylcholine Levels in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2012, 13, 12656-12664.

AMA Style

Reale M, de Angelis F, di Nicola M, Capello E, di Ioia M, Luca GD, Lugaresi A, Tata AM. Relation between Pro-inflammatory Cytokines and Acetylcholine Levels in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2012; 13(10):12656-12664.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Reale, Marcella; de Angelis, Federica; di Nicola, Marta; Capello, Elisabetta; di Ioia, Maria; Luca, Giovanna D.; Lugaresi, Alessandra; Tata, Ada M. 2012. "Relation between Pro-inflammatory Cytokines and Acetylcholine Levels in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 13, no. 10: 12656-12664.

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