Serum molecular biomarkers in neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis

• DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2022.103527
• Publication Date: 2022-01-20T17:07:53Z
• Authors: Cong-Cong Fu; Cong Gao; Hui-Hua Zhang; Ying-Qing Mao; Jing-Qiao Lu; Brianne Petritis; Andy S. Huang; Xin-Guang Yang; You-Ming Long; Ruo-Pan Huang
• Keywords: Neuromyelitis Optica; Aquaporin 4; Optic neuritis; Spectrum disorder

Abstract ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to determine whether the expression levels of serological cytokines could distinguish 1) neuromyelitis optical spectrum disorders (NMOSD) from healthy controls (HCs); and 2) NMOSD patients with and without the aquaporin-4 (AQP-4) antibody biomarker from each other; and 3) NMOSD patients without antibody to AQP-4 from multiple sclerosis (MS). MethodsThe expression levels of 200 proteins in serum from 41 NMOSD (32 with antibodies to AQP-4, 9 without antibodies to AQP-4), 12 MS patients, and 34 HCs were measured using glass-based antibody arrays. In parallel, the correlation between protein expression in NMOSD/MS patients and clinical traits was analyzed with Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA).ResultsThirty-nine serological proteins were differentially expressed in NMOSD patients compared to HCs. 29 differentially-expression proteins (DEPs) were specific to NMOSD whereas 10 of these were observed in NMOSD and MS samples. In addition, there were 15 DEPs between AQP-4-IgG seronegative and AQP-4-IgG seropositive NMOSD patients, and 9 DEPs between NMOSD and MS patients who did not have AQP-4-IgG. ConclusionsOur findings highlight that serological Interleukin-17B (IL-17B) may be key biomarker of NMOSD and MS. While epidermal growth factor (EGF) may be correlated with the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier in NMOSD patients, granulocyte chemotactic protein-2 (GCP-2) and monocyte differentiation antigen CD14 (CD14) may play different roles in the pathogenesis of AQP-4-IgG seronegative and seropositive NMOSD and MS. Novel biomarkers identified in our study could potentially be used in the diagnosis and treatment of NMOSD.Trial registrationPublic title: Multi-Center Clinical Study of GFAP AstrocytopathyRegistration number: ChiCTR2000041291Date of registration: 2020-12-23 (Retrospective registration)URL of trail registry record: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=65306