Significance of change of 14-3-3 protein in cerebrospinal fluid in different types of meningo encephalitis in children and value of judging brain injury

Objective To investigate the change of 14-3-3 protein in cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) in different types of meningoencephalitis in children and its value in judging brain injury. Methods CSF 14-3-3 protein bands were detected by means of Western blot in 22 patients with viral meningoencephalitis and 20 cases of purulent meningoencephalitis and with 15 cases of febrile seizures as the control group from Jul. 2009 to Jun. 2010, and in addition, the quantitative detection of 14-3-3 protein was done by way of ELISA.Correlation was analyzed between the clinical manifestations, prognosis, EEG, head CT or MRI and the changes of 14-3-3 protein. Results The positive rate of 14-3-3 protein in cases of purulent meningitis was 65.0(13/22 cases), higher than viral meningoencephalitis group(27.3%, 6/22 cases), and the difference was significant.In the quantitative detection, 14-3-3 protein was increased in both the purulent meningitis [(5.6±0.2) μg/L]and viral encephalitis groups[(3.2±0.3) μg/L]compared with the control group[(0.9±0.1) μg/L]. After treatment, 14-3-3 proteins were less than before in the purulent meningitis and viral meningoencephalitis groups.In the cases with severe clinical manifestations and severe injury brain suggested by imaging and EEG, the 14-3-3 protein in cerebrospinal fluid was elevated; and the prognosis of the cases with increased 14-3-3 protein was poor, as a result of epilepsy, death and so on. Conclusions 14-3-3 protein in the CSF increases with disease severity, so to a certain extent, it can be used to identify viral meningitis and purulent meningitis. Key words: 14-3-3 protein; Meningoencephalitis; Child