Association between intercellular adhesion molecule-1 to depression and blood-brain barrier penetration in cerebellar vascular disease

Ju-Luo Chen; Rui Wang; Pei-Qi Ma; You-Meng Wang; Qi-Qiang Tang

doi:10.5498/wjp.v14.i11.1661

Association between intercellular adhesion molecule-1 to depression and blood-brain barrier penetration in cerebellar vascular disease

World J Psychiatry. 2024 Nov 19;14(11):1661-1670. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i11.1661.

Authors

Ju-Luo Chen^{1

2

3}, Rui Wang², Pei-Qi Ma³, You-Meng Wang³, Qi-Qiang Tang^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China.
² The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, Anhui Province, China.
³ Department of Neurology, Fuyang People's Hospital, Fuyang 236000, Anhui Province, China.
⁴ The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, Anhui Province, China. tqq1995@126.com.

Abstract

Background: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a prevalent cerebrovascular disease in clinical practice that is often associated with macrovascular disease. A clear understanding of the underlying causes of CSVD remains elusive.

Aim: To explore the association between intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration in CSVD.

Methods: This study included patients admitted to Fuyang People's Hospital and Fuyang Community (Anhui, China) between December 2021 and March 2022. The study population comprised 142 patients, including 80 in the CSVD group and 62 in the control group. Depression was present in 53 out of 80 patients with CSVD. Multisequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI were applied in patients to determine the brain volume, cortical thickness, and cortical area of each brain region. Moreover, neuropsychological tests including the Hamilton depression scale, mini-mental state examination, and Montreal cognitive assessment basic scores were performed.

Results: The multivariable analysis showed that age [P = 0.011; odds ratio (OR) = 0.930, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.880-0.983] and ICAM-1 levels (P = 0.023; OR = 1.007, 95%CI: 1.001-1.013) were associated with CSVD. Two regions of interest (ROIs; ROI3 and ROI4) in the white matter showed significant (both P < 0.001; 95%CI: 0.419-0.837 and 0.366-0.878) differences between the two groups, whereas only ROI1 in the gray matter showed significant difference (P = 0.046; 95%CI: 0.007-0.680) between the two groups. ICAM-1 was significantly correlated (all P < 0.05) with cortical thickness in multiple brain regions in the CSVD group.

Conclusion: This study revealed that ICAM-1 levels were independently associated with CSVD. ICAM-1 may be associated with cortical thickness in the brain, predominantly in the white matter, and a significant increase in BBB permeability, proposing the involvement of ICAM-1 in BBB destruction.

Keywords: Blood-brain barrier penetration; Cerebral small vessel disease; Cortical thickness; Intercellular adhesion molecule-1; White matter.