TY - JOUR
T1 - Blood Phosphorylated Tau 181 as a Biomarker for Amyloid Burden on Brain PET in Cognitively Healthy Adults
AU - McGrath, Emer R.
AU - Beiser, Alexa S.
AU - O'Donnell, Adrienne
AU - Yang, Qiong
AU - Ghosh, Saptaparni
AU - Gonzales, Mitzi M.
AU - Himali, Jayandra J.
AU - Satizabal, Claudia L.
AU - Johnson, Keith A.
AU - Tracy, Russell P.
AU - Seshadri, Sudha
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 - IOS Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background: Plasma phosphorylated-tau181 (p-tau181) is a promising biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may offer utility for predicting preclinical disease. Objective: To evaluate the prospective association between plasma p-tau181 and amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau-PET deposition in cognitively unimpaired individuals. Methods: Plasma p-tau181 levels were measured at baseline in 52 [48% women, mean 64.4 (SD 5.5) years] cognitively unimpaired Framingham Offspring cohort participants using samples stored between 2011-2014 who subsequently underwent 11C-Pittsburgh Compound-B (PiB)-PET and/or 18F-Flortaucipir (FTP)-PET scans (n = 18 with tau-PET) a mean of 6.8 (SD 0.6) years later. Our primary outcomes included Aβ-precuneus, Aβ-FLR (frontal, lateral, and retrosplenial cortices) and tau-global composite region PET deposition. Secondary outcomes included individual regional Aβ and tau PET-deposition. P-tau181 was compared with plasma neurofilament light chain (NFL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in predicting PET outcomes. Results: P-tau181 was associated with increased Aβ deposition in the FLR (β±SE, 1.25±0.30, p < 0.0001), precuneus (1.35±0.29, p < 0.001), and other cortical regions. Plasma NFL (1.30±0.49, p = 0.01) and GFAP (1.46±0.39, p < 0.001) were also associated with FLR Aβ deposition. In models including all three biomarkers adjusted for age, sex, APOE E4 allele, AD polygenic risk score and cortical atrophy score, p-tau181 (0.93±0.31, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.18) and GFAP (0.93±0.41, p = 0.03, R2 = 0.11), but not NFL (0.25±0.51, p = 0.62, R2 = 0.01), were associated with FLR-Aβ deposition. Plasma p-tau181 was not associated with tau-PET burden. Conclusion: In cognitively unimpaired adults, elevated plasma p-tau181 is associated with future increased Aβ deposition across multiple brain regions. Our results highlight the potential utility of p-tau181 as a blood-biomarker to screen for brain-amyloid deposition in cognitively healthy individuals in a community-setting.
AB - Background: Plasma phosphorylated-tau181 (p-tau181) is a promising biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may offer utility for predicting preclinical disease. Objective: To evaluate the prospective association between plasma p-tau181 and amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau-PET deposition in cognitively unimpaired individuals. Methods: Plasma p-tau181 levels were measured at baseline in 52 [48% women, mean 64.4 (SD 5.5) years] cognitively unimpaired Framingham Offspring cohort participants using samples stored between 2011-2014 who subsequently underwent 11C-Pittsburgh Compound-B (PiB)-PET and/or 18F-Flortaucipir (FTP)-PET scans (n = 18 with tau-PET) a mean of 6.8 (SD 0.6) years later. Our primary outcomes included Aβ-precuneus, Aβ-FLR (frontal, lateral, and retrosplenial cortices) and tau-global composite region PET deposition. Secondary outcomes included individual regional Aβ and tau PET-deposition. P-tau181 was compared with plasma neurofilament light chain (NFL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in predicting PET outcomes. Results: P-tau181 was associated with increased Aβ deposition in the FLR (β±SE, 1.25±0.30, p < 0.0001), precuneus (1.35±0.29, p < 0.001), and other cortical regions. Plasma NFL (1.30±0.49, p = 0.01) and GFAP (1.46±0.39, p < 0.001) were also associated with FLR Aβ deposition. In models including all three biomarkers adjusted for age, sex, APOE E4 allele, AD polygenic risk score and cortical atrophy score, p-tau181 (0.93±0.31, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.18) and GFAP (0.93±0.41, p = 0.03, R2 = 0.11), but not NFL (0.25±0.51, p = 0.62, R2 = 0.01), were associated with FLR-Aβ deposition. Plasma p-tau181 was not associated with tau-PET burden. Conclusion: In cognitively unimpaired adults, elevated plasma p-tau181 is associated with future increased Aβ deposition across multiple brain regions. Our results highlight the potential utility of p-tau181 as a blood-biomarker to screen for brain-amyloid deposition in cognitively healthy individuals in a community-setting.
KW - Aβ-PET
KW - Dementia
KW - biomarkers
KW - brain positron emission tomography
KW - tau-PET
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132280618&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85132280618&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3233/JAD-215639
DO - 10.3233/JAD-215639
M3 - Article
C2 - 35491781
AN - SCOPUS:85132280618
SN - 1387-2877
VL - 87
SP - 1517
EP - 1526
JO - Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
JF - Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
IS - 4
ER -