Increased serum concentrations of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome

Background Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acquired demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. It has shown that macrophage activation contribute to the pathogenesis of GBS. Therefore macrophage-mediated factors could be the potential markers for disease diagnosis and status of GBS. Methods We measured serum concentrations of 4 macrophage-mediated factors, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), vascular cell adhesion protein 1 (VCAM-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in 23 chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), 28 GBS, 11 Miller-Fisher syndrome (MFS), 40 multiple sclerosis (MS), and 12 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, as well as 15 healthy controls. Results Serum TGF-β1 concentration of GBS patients (35.94 ± 2.55 ng/ml) was significantly higher compared with CIDP (25.46 ± 1.40 ng/ml, P < 0.001), MFS (25.32 ± 2.31 ng/ml, P = 0.010), MS (21.35 ± 0.90 ng/ml, P < 0.001) and AD patients (22.92 ± 1.82 ng/ml, P < 0.001), as well as healthy controls (23.12 ± 1.67 ng/ml, P < 0.001). A positive correlation between serum TGF-β1 concentrations and Hughes’ functional grading scales was observed in GBS patients. Serum concentrations of IL-6, VCAM-1 and VEGF were similar between the studied groups. Conclusion The high serum concentrations of TGF-β1 and the correlation between serum TGF-β1 concentration and disease severity highlight the potential of TGF-β1 as a biomarker of GBS.