The cerebrospinal fluid cytokine signature of multiple sclerosis: A homogenous response that does not conform to the Th1/Th2/Th17 convention

•CCL22, CXCL10, and sCD40L were increased in RRMS patients with enhancing MR lesions.•CXCL1 and CCL5 were increased and CCL2 decreased in RRMS patients.•The cytokine patterns did not conform to conventional Th1/Th2/Th17 responses.

In this cross-sectional study, we wanted to identify key cytokines characteristic of different stages of multiple sclerosis (MS). To this end, cerebrospinal fluid from patients with MS was investigated with a multiplexed fluorescent bead-based immunoassay. In total 43 cytokines were assessed and related to clinical and imaging data. Increased levels of CCL22, CXCL10 and sCD40L characterized relapsing-remitting MS patients with the presence of gadolinium-enhancing lesions; decreased CCL2 and increased CXCL1 and CCL5 were typical of relapsing-remitting MS patients irrespectively of the presence of gadolinium-enhancing lesions. These homogenous patterns of cytokine activation do not conform to conventional Th1/Th2/Th17 responses.