Serum soluble OX40 in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease. Data from the literature show that systemic immune activation plays a role in ALS. OX40 (CD134) is member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family and is expressed selectively on activated T lymphocytes. The aim of the study was to measure serum soluble OX40 (sOX40) levels in patients with ALS. The study included 25 ALS patients and 15 control subjects. Serum sOX40 levels were determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent method. Study showed that sOX40 levels were significantly decreased in serum of ALS patients compared with controls (P=0.05). There was no significant correlation between serum sOX40 levels and clinical parameters ofALS such as severity of the ALS patient clinical state and duration of the disease (P>0.05). In conclusion, decrease in serum sOX40 levels in patients with ALS suggests that this cytokine may be implicated in the pathomechanisms of this disease.