Differences Between Plasma and Cerebrospinal Fluid p-tau181 and p-tau231 in Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Pilotto, Andrea^{a; *} | Parigi, Marta^b | Bonzi, Giulio^a | Battaglio, Beatrice^a | Ferrari, Elisabetta^a | Mensi, Lorenza^a | Benussi, Alberto^a | Caratozzolo, Salvatore^a | Cosseddu, Maura^a | Turrone, Rosanna^a | Archetti, Silvana^c | Ashton, Nicholas J.^{d; e; f; g} | Zetterberg, Henrik^{d; h; i; j; k} | Giliani, Silvia^b | Padovani, Alessandro^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Neurology Unit, University of Brescia, Italy | [b] A. Nocivelli Institute for Molecular Medicine Spedali Civili and Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy | [c] III Laboratory of Analyses, Brescia Hospital, Brescia, Italy | [d] Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience & Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden | [e] Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden | [f] King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Institute Clinical Neuroscience Institute, London, UK | [g] NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health and Biomedical Research Unit for Dementia at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation, London, UK | [h] Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden | [i] Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK | [j] UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK | [k] Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence authors: Andrea Pilotto and Alessandro Padovani, Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, P.le Spedali Civili, 1 - 25123 Brescia, Italy. Tel.: +39 0303995632; Fax: +39 0303995027; E-mails: pilottoandreae@gmail.com and alessandro.padovani@unibs.it.

Abstract: Plasma phosphorylated tau species have been recently proposed as peripheral markers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology. In this cross-sectional study including 91 subjects, plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) p-tau181 and p-tau231 levels were elevated in the early symptomatic stages of AD. Plasma p-tau231 and p-tau181 were strongly related to CSF phosphorylated tau, total tau and amyloid and exhibited a high accuracy—close to CSF p-tau231 and p-tau181—to identify AD already in the early stage of the disease. The findings might support the use as diagnostic and prognostic peripheral AD biomarkers in both research and clinical settings.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrospinal fluid, phosphorylated-tau, plasma biomarkers

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-215646

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 991-997, 2022