Affiliations: [a] Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany | [b] Medizinische Klinik III, Kardiologie und Kreislauferkrankungen, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany | [c] Geriatric Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Dr. Christoph Laske, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Osianderstr. 24, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany. Tel.: +49 7071 2983444; Fax: +49 7071 294141; E-mail: christoph.laske@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
Note: [] Communicated by Milan Fiala
Abstract: The chemokine CXCL12 (also known as stromal cell-derived factor 1, SDF-1) controls many aspects of bone marrow-derived stem cell functions and has been associated with neurogenesis as well with recruitment of brain resident and non-resident circulating cells towards sites of lesion in the central nervous system (CNS). Disrupting this line of chemokine-mediated intercellular communication may contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, decreased CXCL12 plasma levels in patients with early AD (p = 0.003) were found, which significantly inversely correlated with CSF tau protein levels (r = −0.373; p = 0.042) and positively with CXCL12 CSF levels (r = 0.429; p = 0.018) and with changes of cognitive functions over the time period of 15 months (r = 0.583; p = 0.009). Our findings indicate a lack of chemotactic activity in early AD and support the view of a deficient regenerative hematopoietic brain support in early AD with putative pathogenic and therapeutic relevance.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, cognitive functions, CXCL12, dementia, SDF-1, tau protein
