**5. Conclusions**

The review of publications focused on the problem of SCI-related immune (including cytokine) processes demonstrates that the available data are inconsistent and difficult to interpret.

Both the nervous and the immune systems have essential regulatory functions in the body and are tightly interrelated, while their interaction mechanisms are very diverse. Both local and systemic effects are associated with the neurological and immune changes occurring after spinal cord injury.

Along with these general aspects, the SCI-related local and systemic changes in the central nervous system and immune processes should be assessed on a stage-bystage basis [150, 151]. Each phase is characterized by specific prevailing pathogenesis, which is initially linked to the response to injury and targeted at eliminating the damaged cells; then focus moves towards the inflammatory response with the aim of containing the affected area. Finally, a transition from local reactions to systemic processes occurs during later stages; the outcome of the pathological process depends on the efficiency of these phases. Each phase is associated with a specific category of immune response. In this respect, various cell subpopulations characterizing the innate and adaptive immunity or cytokines, the products secreted by these cells, can serve as markers of these immune responses [152, 153].

A specific feature of cytokines as markers of pathological changes after spinal cord injury is that they are secreted not only by immune cells but also by cells of the damaged spinal cord. The interaction between the nervous and immune systems can be characterized using the cytokine profile model. It has both theoretical research implications and diagnostic value and provides an opportunity to highlight the critical therapeutic targets.

Thus, cytokines contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of SCI-related traumatic disease and are responsible for its various manifestations. The cytokines can be secreted by immune cells; however, neurons of the damaged spinal cord are the main source of these biologically active substances. Therefore, the SCI-related cytokine pattern characterizes both the immune and neurological status and has a tremendous diagnostic and prognostic value.

**13**

**Author details**

Georgii Telegin1

Nikolai Konovalov4

of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Ministry of Health, Moscow, Russia

Federation Health Ministry, Moscow, Russia

provided the original work is properly cited.

\*Address all correspondence to: telegin@bibch.ru

\*, Aleksandr Chernov1

Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russia

and Aleksandr Gabibov2

, Alexey Belogurov2

1 Branch of Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian

2 Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy

4 N.N. Burdenko National Scientific and Practical Center for Neurosurgery, Russian

© 2021 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

3 Evdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry of Russia's

, Irina Balmasova<sup>3</sup>

,

*Cytokine Profile as a Marker of Cell Damage and Immune Dysfunction after Spinal Cord Injury*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95614*
