Serum CXCL12 Levels as a Novel Predictor of Future Stroke Recurrence in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

Previous studies had shown that CXC chemokine ligand-12 (CXCL12) plays a significant role in animal models of ischemic stroke, but its role in human stroke is unclear. The aim of this study was to test the relationship between elevated serum circulating CXCL12 levels and the 1-year stroke recurrence in Chinese patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). All consecutive patients with first-ever acute ischemic stroke from January 2011 to September 2013 were recruited to participate in the study. Serum levels of CXCL12 and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) were measured at the time of admission. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the stroke recurrence according to serum CXCL12 levels. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the accuracy of serum CXCL12 in predicting stroke recurrence. Clinical follow-up was performed at 1 year. In our study, 248 patients finished the 1-year follow-up. At 1-year follow-up, 31 patients had a recurrence ischemic stroke. The median CXCL12 levels were significantly higher in those who sustained a recurrence ischemic stroke compared with those who did not [24.2 ng/mL (IQR 15.4-33.7) vs 6.5 ng/mL (IQR 3.4-10.2); Z = 8.258, P < 0.0001]. In multivariate analysis, there was an increased risk of stroke recurrence associated with serum CXCL12 levels a parts per thousand yen12.15 ng/mL (OR 9.122, 95 % CI 6.103-15.104) after adjusting for above possible confounders. The time to recurrence stroke distribution between patients with baseline CXCL12 levels a parts per thousand yen12.15 ng/mL and those with baseline CXCL12 levels < 12.15 ng/mL were significantly different (P < 0.0001, log-rank test). Elevated circulating CXCL12 levels at admission are strongly associated with the future recurrence of ischemic stroke in Chinese patients with AIS. Further studies are warranted to confirm this association and define the role for CXCL12 as a novel predictor biomarker for stroke recurrence.