Diagnostic potential of urinary monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) for Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

BACKGROUND: The chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to investigate whether urinary MCP-1 can distinguish patients with AD, patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and cognitively normal (CN) subjects. METHODS: A total of 754 participants, including 97 patients with AD, 50 patients with aMCI and 84 age- and sex-matched CN controls, as well as a cohort of 523 CN subjects of different ages, were enrolled from five hospitals located in different areas of China. Urinary MCP-1 levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). The correlations between urinary MCP-1 levels and cognition test scores or age were analysed. The optimal diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: In the cohort of CN subjects with different ages, urinary MCP-1 levels increased with ageing and were correlated with age. The urinary MCP-1 levels were higher in females than in males. In the cohort composed of patients with AD, aMCI and age- and sex-matched CN controls, urinary MCP-1 levels were significantly higher in patients with AD and aMCI than in CN controls. There were no differences in urine MCP-1 levels between the AD group and the aMCI group. The urinary MCP-1 levels were correlated with the MMSE scores and age, and was able to differentiate AD and aMCI patients from CN subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Urinary MCP-1 is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of AD and aMCI.