Alzheimer's disease biomarker discovery using SOMAscan multiplexed protein technology

Blood proteins and their complexes have become the focus of a great deal
of interest in the context of their potential as biomarkers of
Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used a SOMAscan assay for quantifying 1001
proteins in blood samples from 331 AD, 211 controls, and 149 mild
cognitive impaired (MCI) subjects. The strongest associations of protein
levels with AD outcomes were prostate-specific antigen complexed to
α1-antichymotrypsin (AD diagnosis), pancreatic prohormone (AD diagnosis,
left entorhinal cortex atrophy, and left hippocampus atrophy),
clusterin (rate of cognitive decline), and fetuin B (left entorhinal
atrophy). Multivariate analysis found that a subset of 13 proteins
predicted AD with an accuracy of area under the curve of 0.70. Our
replication of previous findings provides further evidence that levels
of these proteins in plasma are truly associated with AD. The newly
identified proteins could be potential biomarkers and are worthy of
further investigation.

No comments: