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Brusaferri L, Alshelh Z, Schnieders JH, Sandström A, Mohammadian M, Morrissey EJ, Kim M, Chane CA, Grmek GC, Murphy JP, Bialobrzewski J, DiPietro A, Klinke J, Zhang Y, Torrado-Carvajal A, Mercaldo N, Akeju O, Wu O, Rosen BR, Napadow V, Hadjikhani N, Loggia ML. Neuroimmune activation and increased brain aging in chronic pain patients after the COVID-19 pandemic onset. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 116:259-266. [PMID: 38081435 PMCID: PMC10872439 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a global impact on both physical and mental health, and clinical populations have been disproportionally affected. To date, however, the mechanisms underlying the deleterious effects of the pandemic on pre-existing clinical conditions remain unclear. Here we investigated whether the onset of the pandemic was associated with an increase in brain/blood levels of inflammatory markers and MRI-estimated brain age in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP), irrespective of their infection history. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 56 adult participants with cLBP (28 'Pre-Pandemic', 28 'Pandemic') using integrated Positron Emission Tomography/ Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PET/MRI) and the radioligand [11C]PBR28, which binds to the neuroinflammatory marker 18 kDa Translocator Protein (TSPO). Image data were collected between November 2017 and January 2020 ('Pre-Pandemic' cLBP) or between August 2020 and May 2022 ('Pandemic' cLBP). Compared to the Pre-Pandemic group, the Pandemic patients demonstrated widespread and statistically significant elevations in brain TSPO levels (P =.05, cluster corrected). PET signal elevations in the Pandemic group were also observed when 1) excluding 3 Pandemic subjects with a known history of COVID infection, or 2) using secondary outcome measures (volume of distribution -VT- and VT ratio - DVR) in a smaller subset of participants. Pandemic subjects also exhibited elevated serum levels of inflammatory markers (IL-16; P <.05) and estimated BA (P <.0001), which were positively correlated with [11C]PBR28 SUVR (r's ≥ 0.35; P's < 0.05). The pain interference scores, which were elevated in the Pandemic group (P <.05), were negatively correlated with [11C]PBR28 SUVR in the amygdala (r = -0.46; P<.05). This work suggests that the pandemic outbreak may have been accompanied by neuroinflammation and increased brain age in cLBP patients, as measured by multimodal imaging and serum testing. This study underscores the broad impact of the pandemic on human health, which extends beyond the morbidity solely mediated by the virus itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovica Brusaferri
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Computer Science and Informatics, School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London, UK
| | - Zeynab Alshelh
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jack H Schnieders
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Angelica Sandström
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mehrbod Mohammadian
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Erin J Morrissey
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Minhae Kim
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Courtney A Chane
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Grace C Grmek
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer P Murphy
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julia Bialobrzewski
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexa DiPietro
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julie Klinke
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Angel Torrado-Carvajal
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Medical Image Analysis and Biometry Laboratory, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nathaniel Mercaldo
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Oluwaseun Akeju
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ona Wu
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bruce R Rosen
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Nouchine Hadjikhani
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Marco L Loggia
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Lee CJ, Schnieders JH, Rubakhin SS, Patel AV, Liu C, Naji A, Sweedler JV. d-Amino Acids and Classical Neurotransmitters in Healthy and Type 2 Diabetes-Affected Human Pancreatic Islets of Langerhans. Metabolites 2022; 12:metabo12090799. [PMID: 36144204 PMCID: PMC9501506 DOI: 10.3390/metabo12090799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The pancreatic islets of Langerhans are clusters of cells that function as endocrine units synthesizing and releasing insulin and a range of additional peptide hormones. The structural and chemical characteristics of islets change during type 2 diabetes development. Although a range of metabolites including neurotransmitters has been reported in rodent islets, the involvement of these cell-to-cell signaling molecules within human pancreatic islets in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes is not well known, despite studies suggesting that these molecules impact intra- and inter-islet signaling pathways. We characterize the enigmatic cell-to-cell signaling molecules, d-serine (d-Ser) and d-aspartate (d-Asp), along with multiple classical neurotransmitters and related molecules, in healthy versus type 2 diabetes-affected human islets using capillary electrophoresis separations. Significantly reduced d-Ser percentage and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels were found in type 2 diabetes-affected islets compared to healthy islets. In addition, the negative correlations of many of the signaling molecules, such as d-Ser percentage (r = −0.35), d-Asp (r = −0.32), serotonin (r = −0.42), and GABA (r = −0.39) levels, with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and thus with the progression of type 2 diabetes further demonstrate the disruption in intra- or inter-islet signaling pathways and suggest that these cell-to-cell signaling molecules may be potential therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy J. Lee
- Department of Chemistry, The Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Jack H. Schnieders
- Department of Chemistry, The Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Stanislav S. Rubakhin
- Department of Chemistry, The Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Amit V. Patel
- Department of Chemistry, The Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Chengyang Liu
- Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ali Naji
- Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Jonathan V. Sweedler
- Department of Chemistry, The Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Correspondence:
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