Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine

en Altered Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid TNF-α, Caspase 3, and IL 1β in COVID-19 Disease Physiology Physiology Case Series Case Series Background: We evaluated the levels of the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and caspase-3 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of COVID-19 patients to improve our knowledge about underlying mechanisms caused by this virus in central nervous system involvement. Case Presentation: This case series study included six COVID-19 patients from March 26, 2020, to April 17, 2020, and six healthy control patients. CSF and serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and caspase-3 have been assayed using monoclonal antibodies-based ELISAs. Patients with COVID-19 had significantly higher level of IL-1β, TNF-α, and caspase-3 in serum (239.16±35.73 pg/ml, 100.50±12.49 pg/ml, 3.58±0.11pg/ml, p < 0.001) and CSF (146.66±17.55 pg/ml, 63.16±14.68 pg/ml,3.22±0.03pg/ml, p<0.001), respectively as compared to control. In addition, our results showed that these biomarkers were significantly higher in serum compared with CSF of the COVID-19 patients (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study provides essential information for understanding the pathogenesis of COVID-19 infection and sheds light on the potential mechanisms of virus transmission. The obtained data could be useful for designing new prevention and treatment strategies for COVID-19. Apoptosis, Inflammation, COVID-19 264 269 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1904-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mahtab Ramezani drramezani96@gmail.com 100319475328460035577 100319475328460035577 No Skull Base Research Center, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Omidvar Rezaei dromidvarrezaee@gmail.com 100319475328460035578 100319475328460035578 No Skull Base Research Center, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ilad Alavi Darzam leila.simani@yahoo.com 100319475328460035579 100319475328460035579 No Department of Infectious Diseases, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammadreza Hajiesmaeili drhajiesmaeili@gmail.com 100319475328460035580 100319475328460035580 No Anesthesiology Research Center, Loghman Hakim Medical Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mahdi Amirdosara mahdi_0597@yahoo.com 100319475328460035581 100319475328460035581 No Anesthesiology Research Center, Loghman Hakim Medical Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Leila Simani l.simani62@gmail.com 100319475328460035582 100319475328460035582 Yes Department of Infectious Diseases, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Abbas Aliaghaei aghaei60@gmail.com 100319475328460035583 100319475328460035583 No Neuroscience Lab, Anatomy and Cell Biology Department, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran