Biomarkers in vesicles
Discovery of early plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease
Anna Yudina, "Scientific Russia"
A group of researchers from the Canadian National Institute of Scientific Research (Institut national de la recherche scientifique, INRS) discovered two early plasma markers for detecting Alzheimer's disease five years before its onset, the press release of Discovery of early plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease reports.
The results of this recent study, conducted by doctoral student Mohammed Raafet Ben Khedher and doctoral student Mohamed Haddad under the supervision of Professor Charles Ramassami from INRS, were published in the scientific journal Alzheimer's&Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions (Ben Khedher et al. Apolipoprotein E4–driven effects on inflammatory and neurotrophic factors in peripheral extracellular vesicles from cognitively impaired, no dementia participants who converted to Alzheimer's disease).
The diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is usually based on a series of psychometric tests assessing cognitive function, brain imaging and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. However, these tests have their limitations. "Lumbar puncture is invasive, and brain imaging is expensive and not 100% reliable. This makes it difficult to monitor regularly," says Professor Ramassamy.
Moreover, people with the disease are often diagnosed at a late stage of the disease. "We need to find more and more early markers so that we can act as soon as possible. When the disease manifests itself symptomatically, there is almost no way back," he explains.
The research team took on this task by detecting two markers using a blood test, which allows them to track the progression of the disease. These markers are found in extracellular vesicles, vesicles that are secreted by all cells of the body and circulate in the bloodstream.
The team focused on "sporadic" Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of the disease. This is mainly due to the presence of APOE4, a variant of the gene encoding apolipoprotein. Patients with this gene who developed the disease five years later had markers that varied depending on the progression of the disease.
Optimal for the prognosis of the disease in APOE4 carriers was the ratio of the concentration of pentraxin-2 and α-synuclein proteins in extracellular vesicles – VM.
The study was conducted by analyzing blood samples collected as part of the Canadian Health and Aging Study (CSHA). The study population consisted of patients with cognitive problems, but not suffering from dementia, and only some of them developed Alzheimer's disease. Professor Ramassamy hopes to analyze a large population using samples before and after the disease. This will allow him to determine the progression of markers after the onset of symptoms. His study of markers located in the vesicles opens up the possibility of studying other diseases, such as vascular dementia.
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