VCAM1 Levels Correlate with Parkinson's Disease Severity
Levels of VCAM1 in the bloodstream increase with age, and it appears to be an important signal molecule in at least the brain. Its expression is upregulated by inflammatory cytokines, and so is a marker of inflammatory disease. Chronic inflammation of course increases with age. Researchers have shown that blocking VCAM1 can prevent suppression of neurogenesis due to delivery of old blood plasma into young mice, which is an interesting result, as one might not expect detrimental reactions to inflammatory signaling to have such a narrow bottleneck of regulation. Would a method of interfering with VCAM1 assist in tissue maintenance and cognitive function in older individuals? That remains to be determined with any certainty. The work here showing a correlation between VCAM1 and severity of Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative condition, reinforces the point that high levels of VCAM1 are undesirable.
There is increasing evidence that Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology is accompanied by ongoing inflammatory processess. This neuroinflammatory component is particularly relevant for better understanding disease progression accordingly developing disease-modifying therapies. Therefore, the present study explored dysregulated inflammatory profiles in the peripheral blood cells and plasma of PD patients within the context of established clinical indicators. We performed a screening of selected cell-surface chemokine receptors and adhesion molecules in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from PD patients and age-matched healthy controls in a flow cytometry-based assay. ELISA was used to quantify VCAM1 levels in the plasma of PD patients.
The present data illustrate the role soluble VCAM1 (sVCAM1) levels may play in PD pathology. The levels of sVCAM1 observed here were even higher than those reported for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and neuromyelitis optica. Although substantial evidence exists for the association between increased sVCAM1 and age and cognitive impairment, the use of age-matched healthy donors in this study has illustrated that the increase observed in PD is independent of physiological aging. Furthermore, sVCAM1 correlated with both disease stage and the motor aspects of daily living.
Whether elevated sVCAM1 levels actively drive disease progression in PD or are a consequence of it remains to be fully understood. Of note, VCAM1 has already been implicated to be a potential mediator of PD pathogenesis. Thus, whether targeting the VCAM1-VLA4-axis is a viable therapeutic avenue remains to be established. Indeed, promising evidence for the therapeutic potential of the VCAM1-VLA4 axis in age-related pathologies of the central nervous system already exists; it has been shown that blocking VCAM1 slows down normal brain aging, induces neurogenesis, and ameliorates neuroinflammation. Our chemotaxis assay revealed diminished lymphocytic migration in PD patients which may be indicative of compromised cellular adherence and infiltration of endothelial barriers. Therefore, additional investigations and in vivo studies addressing both the expression and functional state of VCAM1 on brain endothelial cells are necessary.