Fig 1: Validation of proteome findings in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). sVCAM-1, chitotriosidase 1 (CHIT1), and cathepsin C (CTSC) concentration were determined by ELISA in paired (A–F) CSF and (G–L) serum samples from HTLV-1-infected individuals identified according to their clinical status as HTLV-1 asymptomatic carriers (AC) (n=13) and HAM/TSP patients (n=21). The CSF (n=9) and serum samples (n=5) from individuals with non-inflammatory and non-infectious neurological diseases were used as a control. HAM/TSP patients were also subdivided according to the speed of disease progression as very slow (n=6), typical (n=9) and rapid (n=6). The statistical analysis was performed with Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by Dunn’s posthoc test. Unadjusted p-values were used and differences with p < 0.05 were considered significant. (M–O) The association of the HAM/TSP progression index, defined by the speed of neurological deterioration in the IPEC-2 disability scale and the time of disease, and the CSF levels of CHIT1, sVCAM-1, and CTSC was evaluated by Spearman’s rank of correlation analysis, and p-values < 0.05 were considered significant.
Fig 2: Association of CHIT1 and sVCAM-1 with biomarkers of neuroinflammation and neuronal damage in the CSF of HAM/TSP patients. The correlation between the CSF concentration of (A–E) CHIT1 and (F–L) sVCAM-1 with neopterin, phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain (pNfH) protein, and proinflammatory chemokines (CCL2, CCL3, CCL4, CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL8, CXCL10, and CXCL11) was performed with Spearman’s rank of correlations test. The biomarkers of neuroinflammation or neuronal damage were assessed in this population in a previous study (25). The concentration values were log2-transformed and p-values <0.05 were considered significant.
Supplier Page from Thermo Fisher Scientific for Human Chitotriosidase ELISA Kit