Cerebrospinal fluid from Alzheimer patients affects cell-mediated nerve growth factor production and cell survival in vitro

An encapsulated cell technology (ECB) to deliver human NGF to the basal forebrain of AD patients has been tested in for clinical trials (ECB-NGF). The semi-permeable membrane regulates the diffusion of nutrients, oxygen and therapeutics to, and the release of the growth factor from the encapsulated cells. However, inter-capsule difference of cell survival and NGF-release were recorded among the devices. This study investigated the effect of amyloid β-peptides (Aβ), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and CSF from AD, Lewy body dementia (LBD) or subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) patients on the NGF overproducing cell. We found that NGF-release was affected by IL-1β, suggesting that inflammation has a negative effect on ECB cells, while cell survival and NGF-release were not affected by Aβ.135