Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells as a Laboratory to Study Dementia in the Elderly
Figure 1
PBMCs of AD patients and age- and sex-matched controls (CT) were stimulated with a mitogen (LPS) and with a pool of three Aβ peptides (Aβ fragment 25–35; Aβ fragment 1–40; Aβ fragment 1–16). The production of IL-10 and IL-6 was measured by means of ELISA. There were no differences in mitogen-stimulated IL-6 and IL-10 production in AD and controls. In contrast, when Aβ-stimulated production of IL-6 and IL-10 was analysed, a marginally increased IL-6 production and a significantly decreased IL-10 generation were observed in AD patients compared to controls, suggesting an antigen-specific impairment in the production of these cytokines.
