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An Altered Relationship between Soluble TREM2 and Inflammatory Markers in Young Adults with Down Syndrome: A Preliminary Report
Weber GE, Koenig KA, Khrestian M, Shao Y, Tuason ED, Gramm M, Lal D, Leverenz JB et al.. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950), 2020-01-20
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) develop Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related neuropathology, characterized by amyloid plaques with amyloid β (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tangles with tau accumulation. Peripheral inflammation and the innate immune response are elevated in DS. Triggering receptor expressed in myeloid cells 2 ( TREM2 ) genetic variants are risk factors for AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Soluble TREM2 (sTREM2), a soluble cleavage product of TREM2, is elevated in AD cerebrospinal fluid and positively correlates with cognitive decline. There is relatively little information about TREM2 in DS. Our objective was to examine the relationship between sTREM2 and inflammatory markers in young adults with DS, prior to the development of dementia symptoms. Because TREM2 plays a role in the innate immune response and has been associated with dementia, the hypothesis of this exploratory study was that young adults with DS predementia ( n = 15, mean age = 29.5 y) would exhibit a different relationship between sTREM2 and inflammatory markers in plasma, compared with neurotypical, age-matched controls ( n = 16, mean age = 29.6 y). Indeed, young adults with DS had significantly elevated plasma sTREM2 and inflammatory markers. Additionally, in young adults with DS, sTREM2 correlated positively with 24 of the measured cytokines, whereas there were no significant correlations in the control group. Hierarchical clustering of sTREM2 and cytokine concentrations also differed between the groups, supporting the hypothesis that its function is altered in people with DS predementia. This preliminary report of human plasma provides a basis for future studies investigating the relationship between TREM2 and the broader immune response predementia.
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APA 7th
Weber, G. E., Koenig, K. A., Khrestian, M., Shao, Y., Tuason, E. D., Gramm, M., et al. (2020). An Altered Relationship between Soluble TREM2 and Inflammatory Markers in Young Adults with Down Syndrome: A Preliminary Report. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1901166
Vancouver
Weber GE, Koenig KA, Khrestian M, Shao Y, Tuason ED, Gramm M, et al. An Altered Relationship between Soluble TREM2 and Inflammatory Markers in Young Adults with Down Syndrome: A Preliminary Report. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). 2020. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1901166. PMID: 31959733.
BibTeX
@article{weber2020-31959733,
author = {Weber, G. E. and Koenig, K. A. and Khrestian, M. and Shao, Y. and Tuason, E. D. and Gramm, M. and Lal, D. and Leverenz, J. B. and others},
title = {{An Altered Relationship between Soluble TREM2 and Inflammatory Markers in Young Adults with Down Syndrome: A Preliminary Report}},
journal = {Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.4049/jimmunol.1901166},
pmid = {31959733},
url = {https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1901166}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Because TREM2 plays a role in the innate immune response and has been associated with dementia, the hypothesis of this exploratory study was that young adults with DS predementia ( n = 15, mean age = 29.5 y) would exhibit a different relationship between sTREM2 and inflammatory markers in plasma, compared with neurotypical, age-matched controls ( n = 16, mean age = 29.6 y).
- Indeed, young adults with DS had significantly elevated plasma sTREM2 and inflammatory markers.
- Additionally, in young adults with DS, sTREM2 correlated positively with 24 of the measured cytokines, whereas there were no significant correlations in the control group.
Why it matters
In this exploratory study, young adults with Down syndrome who did not yet have dementia (n = 15) had higher blood sTREM2 and inflammatory markers than age-matched controls (n = 16). In the Down syndrome group, sTREM2 correlated positively with 24 of the measured cytokines, while there were no significant correlations in controls. The authors present it as a preliminary basis for studying immune changes before dementia in Down syndrome.
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Study details
- Study designclinical trial
- Participants15
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | The Journal of Immunology: journal h-index 531 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | Design recorded as “clinical trial”, which our rubric does not rank (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 15 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 27 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.4 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Lynn M. Bekris: h-index 32 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Cleveland Clinic: institution h-index 1,139 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31959733) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1901166
- PubMed: 31959733
- Original source →
- Free full text: The Journal of Immunology →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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