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. 2025 Jan;62(1):421-428.
doi: 10.1007/s12035-024-04279-1. Epub 2024 Jun 11.

Circulating Chemokines and Short- and Long-Term Outcomes After Ischemic Stroke

Elzbieta Klimiec-Moskal  1 , Piotr Koceniak  1 , Kazimierz Weglarczyk  2 , Agnieszka Slowik  1 , Maciej Siedlar  2 , Tomasz Dziedzic  3
Affiliations

Circulating Chemokines and Short- and Long-Term Outcomes After Ischemic Stroke

Elzbieta Klimiec-Moskal et al. Mol Neurobiol. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

Chemokines are vital in post-cerebral ischemia inflammatory reactions. We investigate the possible relationship between plasma chemokines and short-term and long-term outcomes after stroke. This study included 235 patients (median age, 72 years; 49.8% female) suffering from ischemic stroke, or transient ischemic attack admitted to the hospital within 24 h of onset. We evaluated chemokines CCL2, CCL5, CXCL8, CXCL9, and CXCL10 in plasma samples collected upon admission. Further, we assessed functional outcomes at 3- and 12-months, all-cause fatality over 5 years, and episodes of delirium within the first 7 days of admission. Multivariate analysis revealed an association between higher CXCL10 levels and an increased risk of poor functional outcomes at 3 months (OR: 3.02, 95%CI: 1.22-7.46, p = 0.016) and 12 months (OR: 2.32, 95%CI: 1.03-5.26, p = 0.043), as well as an increased death risk (HR: 1.79, 95%CI: 1.04-3.07, p = 0.036). High CXCL8 levels independently predicted poor functional outcomes at 12 months (OR: 2.69, 95%CI: 1.39-6.31, p = 0.005) and a higher 5-year case fatality rate (HR: 1.90, 95%CI: 1.23-2.93, p = 0.004). Elevated CXCL9 levels also predicted unfavourable functional outcomes at 12 months (OR: 2.45, 95%CI: 1.07-5.61, p = 0.034). In univariate analysis, increased levels of CXCL8, CXCL9, and CXCL10 showed an association with delirium, although this link was not evident in the multivariate analysis. Plasma CXCL8 and CXCL10 show potential as prognostic biomarkers for stroke outcomes and as therapeutic targets suitable for reverse translation.

Keywords: Chemokines; Delirium; Inflammation; Outcome; Stroke.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by The Bioethics Committee of Jagiellonian University (KBET/63/B/2014). Consent to Participate: Each patient or his/her legal guardian gave informed consent to participate in the study before data collection. Consent for Publication: Not applicable. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Chemokine levels stratified by outcomes. Each panel displays a scatter plot of the respective chemokine levels grouped by outcomes: A CXCL10, B CCL2, C CXCL9, D CCL5, E CXCL8. Error bars represent median levels with interquartile ranges. In panel E, data points below the dotted line correspond to CXCL8 values that fell below the quantification limit and were arbitrarily imputed as half of the lower limit of quantification
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Results for uni- and multivariate analyses
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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