Dynamics of Key Proteins and Systemic Inflammatory Profiles during Neuro-immune Modulation after Spinal Cord Injury
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious neurological trauma causing permanent functional impairments. This retrospective study (2022-2024) of 80 SCI patients examined dynamic protein changes during neural repair and their link to peripheral inflammatory mediators.
Before and at 2 and 4 weeks after treatment, patients' spinal cord function was assessed with the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale. Motor nerve conduction velocities (MCV) and sensory nerve conduction velocities (SCV) were measured. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to quantify serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-17 (IL-17), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), alongside neurotrophic factors basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (mBDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4). Patients' self-care abilities were evaluated with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scale and quality of life with the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Version (WHO-QOL-BREF) scale.
During treatment, ASIA sensory and motor scores improved significantly. MCV and SCV of median, ulnar, tibial, and common peroneal nerves increased significantly. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α decreased significantly, while the serum levels of neurotrophic factors bFGF, mBDNF, NT-3, and NT-4 increased significantly. There was a significant negative correlation between pro-inflammatory cytokines and neurotrophic factors at 2 and 4 weeks after treatment, which was stronger at 4 weeks. FIM and WHO-QOL-BREF scores also improved significantly with treatment time.
These findings suggest a close interaction between the dynamic changes in key proteins and systemic inflammatory profiles during neural repair after SCI.
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| Inflammation mediators Neural conduction Neuroimmunomodulation Spinal cord injuries | ||
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