Evaluation of serum NFL, T-tau, p-tau181, p-tau217, Aβ40 and Aβ42 for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases

Samy Kahouadji; Bruno Pereira; Vincent Sapin; Audrey Valentin; Agathe Bonnet; Elsa Dionet; Julie Durif; Clément Lahaye; Stéphane Boisgard; Xavier Moisset; Damien Bouvier

doi:10.1515/cclm-2024-0729

Article

Evaluation of serum NFL, T-tau, p-tau181, p-tau217, Aβ40 and Aβ42 for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases

Samy Kahouadji , Bruno Pereira , Vincent Sapin , Audrey Valentin , Agathe Bonnet , Elsa Dionet , Julie Durif , Clément Lahaye , Stéphane Boisgard , Xavier Moisset and Damien Bouvier

Published/Copyright: September 20, 2024

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From the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) Volume 63 Issue 2

Abstract

Objectives

To assess the variations and diagnostic performance of serum biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases.

Methods

In this monocentric prospective study, neurofilament light (NFL), T-tau, p-tau181, p-tau217, Aβ40, and Aβ42 were measured in serum collected from orthopedic patients (control group, n=114) and patients in the neurology department (n=69) previously diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD, n=52), parkinsonian syndromes (n=10), and other etiologies of neurodegeneration (non-AD, n=7).

Results

In the control group, serum NFL, T-tau, p-tau181, p-tau217, and Aβ40 significantly increased with age, independently of sex. NFL (p=0.0078), p-tau217 (p<0.001) were significantly increased with neurodegeneration when compared to controls, with only p-tau217 significant in the multivariate analysis (p<0.001). Multivariate regression analysis accounting for age highlighted a significant increase of p-tau217 (p<0.001) in the AD subgroup. NFL was significantly increased in the non-AD patients (p<0.001), and in the parkinsonian syndromes subgroup (p=0.016) when compared to negative controls. Serum p-tau181 and p-tau217 were significantly correlated with CSF p-tau181 (Spearman’s coefficients of 0.43 and 0.48 respectively, n=40). Areas under the ROC curves for the identification of patients with neurodegenerative diseases were 0.62 (0.54–0.70) for NFL, 0.62 (0.54–0.71) for T-tau, 0.83 (0.76–0.89) for p-tau217, and 0.66 (0.58–0.74) for Aβ40.

Conclusions

Serum biomarkers can help identify patients with neurodegenerative disease and may be a valuable tool for care and orientation. Phosphorylated tau p-tau217 is a promising blood biomarker for AD and NFL for other etiologies.

Keywords: neurofilament light (NFL); T-tau; p-tau181; p-tau217; Alzheimer; serum

Corresponding author: Pr. Damien Bouvier, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetic Department, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France; Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, INSERM, iGReD, Clermont-Ferrand, France; and Service de Biochimie et Génétique Moléculaire, Centre de Biologie, CHU Gabriel Montpied, 58 Rue Montalembert, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France, E-mail: dbouvier@chu-clermontferrand.fr

Research ethics: This research complied with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration (as revised in 2013). It was approved by CHU de Clermont Ferrand Ethics Committee (IRB00013412, number 2022-CF72) and complied with French policy of individual data protection.
Informed consent: Patients were informed of their right to express their disagreement regarding the use of their clinical information for research purposes.
Author contributions: SK: Investigation, Writing - Original Draft, Data Curation. BP: Methodology, Formal analysis. VS: Writing - Review & Editing, Validation. AV: Data collection, Data Curation, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. AB: Data collection, Data Curation, Investigation, Writing – Review & Editing. ED: Conceptualization, Writing - Review & Editing, Supervision, Validation. JD: Investigation, Resources, Data Curation. CL: Data collection. SB: Data collection. XM: Conceptualization, Writing - Review & Editing, Supervision, Validation. DB: Conceptualization, Writing - Review & Editing, Supervision, Validation. The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: None declared.
Data availability: Data is confidential and cannot be shared publicly. Data can be available for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data.

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Received: 2024-06-21

Accepted: 2024-08-27

Published Online: 2024-09-20

Published in Print: 2025-01-29

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2024-0729

Keywords for this article

neurofilament light (NFL); T-tau; p-tau181; p-tau217; Alzheimer; serum