Abstract:

Objective To investigate the diagnostic roles of cerebrospinal fluid transforming growth factor-beta-activated kinase 1（TAK1）and autophagy-related protein 7（ATG7）levels in tuberculous meningitis（TBM）. Methods A total of 80 patients with TBM（TBM group）and 48 patients with bacterial meningitis（control group）were enrolled from the Central Hospital of Cangzhou from March 2019 to June 2022. The levels of cerebrospinal fluid white blood cell count，polymorphonuclear cell proportion，glucose，chloride，procalcitonin（PCT），C-reactive protein（CRP），total protein，TAK1 and ATG7 were determined. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the influencing factors of TBM occurrence. Receiver operating characteristic（ROC）curve was used to evaluate the efficacy of cerebrospinal fluid TAK1 and ATG7 levels in diagnosing TBM. Results Compared with control group，the cerebrospinal fluid levels of white blood cell count，total protein，polymorphonuclear cell proportion，PCT，CRP and ATG7 in TBM group were lower（P<0.05），while glucose and TAK1 levels were higher（P<0.05），and the chloride level showed no statistical significance（P>0.05）. Elevated cerebrospinal fluid TAK1 and decreased white blood cell count，total protein and ATG7 were risk factors for TBM occurrence（P<0.05）. The areas under curves（AUC）of single determinations of TAK1，ATG7 and their combined determination were 0.793，0.808 and 0.912，respectively. The AUC of combined determination of TAK1 and ATG7 was higher than those of single determinations（Z values were 2.466 and 2.155，P<0.05）. Conclusions Abnormal levels of cerebrospinal fluid TAK1 and ATG7 are related to TBM and may be used as diagnostic indicators for TBM. The combined determination of TAK1 and ATG7 has a high diagnostic efficacy.

Key words: Transforming growth factor-beta-activated kinase 1, Autophagy-related protein 7, Tuberculous meningitis