Alzheimer’s disease and cytokine IL-10 gene polymorphisms: is there an association?

• Main Authors: Carolina Antunes Magalhães, Maria das Graças Carvalho, Lirlândia Pires de Sousa, Paulo Caramelli, Karina Braga Gomes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO)
• Series: Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
• Subjects: doença de Alzheimer; inflamação; interleucina-10
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2017000900649&lng=en&tlng=en

ABSTRACT Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. In the last 15 years, a new theory has proposed the autoimmune mechanism as a trigger for AD. Studies on the association between AD and inflammatory biomarkers have yielded controversial results. Interleukin-10 (IL-10), an anti-inflammatory mediator, has been pointed out as one of the main cytokines associated with the occurrence of AD. Moreover, treatment that increases IL-10 levels could be a potential therapy for AD, since this cytokine acts on amyloid and pro-inflammatory molecule reduction. Based on the current literature, this study reviews evidence regarding the role of IL-10 polymorphisms in the context of AD, which has been shown to be of paramount importance for attenuating neuroinflammation, cognitive dysfunction and neurodegeneration.