Exp Neurobiol . High Levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 in Cerebrospinal Fluid of COVID-19 Patients with Cerebrovascular Disease

[tetano]

Exp Neurobiol


. 2021 Jun 30;30(3):256-261.
doi: 10.5607/en21009.
High Levels of IL-8 and MCP-1 in Cerebrospinal Fluid of COVID-19 Patients with Cerebrovascular Disease


Sebastián Guartazaca-Guerrero ^{1 2} , Jahir Rodríguez-Morales ^{1 2} , Salma A Rizo-Téllez ^{3 4} , Helena Solleiro-Villavicencio ⁵ , Aldo F Hernández-Valencia ² , José Damián Carrillo-Ruiz ^{2 6} , Galileo Escobedo ³ , Lucía A Méndez-García ³



Affiliations

• PMID: 34230225
• DOI: 10.5607/en21009

Abstract

The coronavirus family has tropism for the Central Nervous System (CNS), however, there is no solid evidence demonstrating that the neurological effects of COVID-19 result from direct viral infection or systemic inflammation. The goals of this study were to examine the cytokine profile and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) from two patients with cerebrovascular disease and COVID-19. Although the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA was not detected in CSF of both patients, we found abnormally high levels of numerous proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, especially IL-8 and MCP-1. Since these chemokines mediate activation and recruitment of neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages, it is feasible that cerebrovascular disease related-neuroinflammation found in both patients results from an exacerbated inflammatory response instead of SARS-CoV-2 direct invasion to CNS. These results suggest that neuroinflammation plays a key role in cerebrovascular disease and COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cerebrospinal fluid; Cerebrovascular disease; IL-8; MCP-1; SARS-CoV-2.