Biomarkers of neurodegeneration and glial activation validated in Alzheimer’s disease assessed in longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid samples of Parkinson’s disease

Aim Several pathophysiological processes are involved in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and could inform in vivo biomarkers. We assessed an established biomarker panel, validated in Alzheimer’s Disease, in a PD cohort. Methods Longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from PPMI (252 PD, 115 healthy controls, HC) were analyzed at six timepoints (baseline, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 months follow-up) using Elecsys® electrochemiluminescence immunoassays to quantify neurofilament light chain (NfL), soluble TREM2 receptor (sTREM2), chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL40), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), S100, and total α-synuclein (αSyn). Results αSyn was significantly lower in PD (mean 103 pg/ml vs. HC: 127 pg/ml, p<0.01; area under the curve [AUC]: 0.64), while all other biomarkers were not significantly different (AUC NfL: 0.49, sTREM2: 0.54, YKL40: 0.57, GFAP: 0.55, IL-6: 0.53, S100: 0.54, p>0.05) and none showed a significant difference longitudinally. We found significantly higher levels of all these markers between PD patients who developed cognitive decline during follow-up, except for αSyn and IL-6. Conclusion Except for αSyn, the additional biomarkers did not differentiate PD and HC, and none showed longitudinal differences, but most markers predict cognitive decline in PD during follow-up.