Objective       To study the significances of high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in pathogenesis of acute cerebral infarction (ACI) and their correlation with ACI risk factors

including homocysteine

blood lipid

blood glucose and fibrinogen for acute cerebral infarction.       Methods      Fasting venous blood samples were collected on days 2

4

7 and 12 after acute infarction in 40 cerebral infarction patients who admitted in our hospital during January to July 2011. Another 20 age- and sex-matched health volunteers and 20 patients with high risk of ACI (with no acute cerebro-vascular disease but with at least one of the risk factors of hypertension

diabetes mellitus

and hyperlipemia) served as control. Their serum levels of HMGB1 and IL-6 were measured by ELISA

and their serum levels of homocysteine

blood glucose

glycosylated hemoglobin

and blood lipid were measured with an automatic analyzer.       Results      Serum level of HMGB1 was 6.548±0.364

8.697±0.328

10.491±0.512

5.315±0.224 and 2.994±0.243 μg/L respectively in cerebral infarction patients on days 2

4

7 and 12 after infarction

and reached its peak on days 2-7 after infarction

which was significantly   higher than in risk factors group (3.272±0.285 μg/L) and in control group (2.994±0.243 μg/L

P0.01).  No significant difference was found in the HMGB1level between the 2 later groups (P=0.998). Serum level of IL-6 was 26.799±1.878

28.546±2.327 and 22.422±2.011 pg/ml respectively in cerebral infarction patients on days 2

4 and 7 after infarction

which was significantly higher than  in risk factors group (15.186±1.325 pg/ml) and in control group (13.275±1.214 pg/ml

P0.01)

and reached its peak on days 2 to 4 after infarction. No significant difference was found in the IL-6 level in infarction group on day 12 after infarction with risk factors group and in control group (P0.05). The  serum HMGB1 and IL-6 levels were positively correlated with the fasting blood glucose

glycosylated hemoglobin

postprandial 2 h blood glucose

and homocysteine and fibrinogen levels (P0.05

P＜0.01) but not with the serum triglyceride

LDL

HDL

and cholesterol levels (P0.05). The serum HMGB1 level was positively correlated with the serum IL-6 level (P0.05). Serum level of HMGB1 was closely related with that of IL-6 (P0.05).       Conclusion      Inflammatory cytokines

HMGB1 and IL-6

play an important role in the pathogenesis of cerebral infarction. The time for serum HMGB1 to reach its peak level is later than that for serum IL-6. The serum HMGB1 and IL-6 levels are positively correlated with the risk factors of blood glucose

homocysteine

and fibrinogen for acute cerebral infarction.