Serum and cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated neurofilament heavy subunit as a marker of neuroaxonal damage in tick-borne encephalitis

0557775 - BC 2023 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Fořtová, A. - Hönig, Václav - Palus, Martin - Salát, Jiří - Pychova, M. - Krbková, L. - Vyhlídalová, Tereza - Kříha, M. - Chrdle, A. - Růžek, Daniel
Serum and cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated neurofilament heavy subunit as a marker of neuroaxonal damage in tick-borne encephalitis.
Journal of General Virology. Roč. 103, č. 5 (2022), č. článku 001743. ISSN 0022-1317. E-ISSN 1465-2099
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA20-14325S; GA ČR(CZ) GA20-30500S
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : virus rna * chemokines * identification * infection * diagnosis * cxcl10 * tick-borne encephalitis * neurofilament * brain injury * biomarker * flavivirus
OECD category: Virology
Impact factor: 3.8, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.001743

Extensive axonal and neuronal loss is the main cause of severe manifestations and poor outcomes in tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). Phosphorylated neurofilament heavy subunit (pNF-H) is an essential component of axons, and its detection in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or serum can indicate the degree of neuroaxonal damage. We examined the use of pNF-H as a biomarker of neuroaxonal injury in TBE. In 89 patients with acute TBE, we measured CSF levels of pNF-H and 3 other markers of brain injury (glial fibrillary acidic protein, S100B and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1) and compared the results to those for patients with meningitis of other aetiology and controls. Serum pNF-H levels were measured in 80 patients and compared with findings for 90 healthy blood donors. TBE patients had significantly (P<0.001) higher CSF pNF-H levels than controls as early as hospital admission. Serum pNF-H concentrations were significantly higher in samples from TBE patients collected at hospital discharge (P<0.0001) than in controls. TBE patients with the highest peak values of serum pNF-H, exceeding 10000 pg ml(-1), had a very severe disease course, with coma or tetraplegia. Patients requiring intensive care had significantly higher serum pNF-H levels than other TBE patients (P<0.01). Elevated serum pNF-H values were also observed in patients with incomplete recovery (P<0.05). Peak serum pNF-H levels correlated positively with the duration of hospitalization (P=0.005). Measurement of pNF-H levels in TBE patients might be useful for assessing disease severity and determining prognosis.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0338951