BackgroundIt is widely accepted that neuroinflammatory processes play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and high levels of cytokines and chemokines are detected around Aβ plaques.MethodsAs neuroinflammation is involved in the development and progression of AD, we measured the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 45 AD patients and 53 age-matched control subjects using a highly sensitive multiplex electrochemiluminescence assay. To address the association with disease progression we correlated cognitive status with cytokine levels.ResultsCSF as well as serum IL-8 levels were found to be significantly lower in AD patients than in controls (p = 0.02). A statistically significant inverse correlation was observed between the CSF level of IL-1β and the MMSE score (rs = -0.03, p = 0.02). We therefore stratified the AD patients by their MMSE scores into three equal groups and found that in the AD group with the most severe cognitive impairment CSF-IL-1β was significantly increased compared to age-matched controls (p < 0.05), whereas in the other investigated groups the increase was not statistically significant.ConclusionOur results confirm data suggesting that cytokine alterations are involved in AD pathogenesis and may be helpful as a biomarker for monitoring disease progression.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12883-016-0707-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, primarily affecting memory. That disorder is thought to be a consequence of neuronal network disturbances and synapse loss. Decline in cognitive function is associated with a high burden of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) such as depression. The cyclic nucleotides cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) are essential second messengers that play a crucial role in memory processing as well as synaptic plasticity and are potential therapeutic targets. Biomarkers that are able to monitor potential treatment effects and that reflect the underlying pathology are of crucial interest.MethodsIn this study, we measured cGMP and cAMP in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a cohort of 133 subjects including 68 AD patients and 65 control subjects. To address the association with disease progression we correlated cognitive status with cyclic nucleotide levels. Because a high burden of NPSs is associated with decrease in cognitive function, we performed an exhaustive evaluation of AD-relevant marker combinations in a depressive subgroup.ResultsWe show that cGMP, but not cAMP, levels in the CSF of AD patients are significantly reduced compared with the control group. Reduced cGMP levels in AD patients correlate with memory impairment based on Mini-Mental State Examination score (r = 0.17, p = 0.048) and tau as a marker of neurodegeneration (r = –0.28, p = 0.001). Moreover, we were able to show that AD patients suffering from current depression show reduced cGMP levels (p = 0.07) and exhibit a higher degree of cognitive impairment than non-depressed AD patients.ConclusionThese results provide further evidence for an involvement of cGMP in AD pathogenesis and accompanying co-morbidities, and may contribute to elucidating synaptic plasticity alterations during disease progression.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13195-017-0245-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.