24 October 2024
Blood markers sGFAP and sNfL as biomarkers for disease activity in multiple sclerosis
New biomarkers in the blood enable more accurate prediction and detection of the progression of multiple sclerosis. A recent study shows that serum concentrations of glial fibrillary acidic protein (sGFAP) and neurofilament light chain (sNfL) reflect different disease mechanisms. This opens up the possibility of assessing the course of the disease more precisely and developing more targeted therapies.
A research team from the Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel (RC2NB), the Department of Biomedicine (DBM) at the University of Basel, the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Basel (USB) and the DKF, together with a consortium of international neurologists, has made significant progress in detecting and predicting the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). In a new study published in the scientific journal Annals of Neurology, the researchers were able to show that two biomarkers in the blood - glial fibrillary acidic protein (sGFAP) and neurofilament light chain (sNfL) - reflect different aspects of disease progression under B-cell depletion therapy*.
Relevance of the blood markers sGFAP and sNfL
Both biomarkers, which were measured in patients undergoing B-cell therapy, could help to better predict the risk of insidious disease progression in the absence of acute relapses - known as Progression Independent of Relapse Activity (PIRA). The results show that elevated levels of sGFAP are more strongly associated with PIRA than sNfL. Accordingly, sGFAP could be particularly useful for better individualized detection of disease progression and more targeted treatment.
The results also suggest that sGFAP should be used in the selection of patients and as a potential endpoint in clinical studies on MS treatment. This could reduce the number of participants by up to 35% and shorten the duration of the study.
Pioneering research from Basel
Initiated by the DKF research group led by Prof. Jens Kuhle, the new results are based on a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in 2023, which aims to develop biomarkers for the personalized detection and prognosis of disease activity in MS. The current findings expand this knowledge by combining the markers sGFAP and sNfL to better assess future MS progression as a precision medicine tool.
The data basis is the Swiss MS Cohort (SMSC), which has been initiated and managed from Basel since 2012. It is one of the largest international databases for clinical research on MS and, with over 1950 patients from 8 Swiss centers, offers a unique platform for MS research.
Promising possibilities for MS therapy
These research findings form the basis for therapeutic approaches that are better tailored to the individual course of the disease. Regular monitoring with these two biomarkers could be a decisive key to improving the quality of life of MS patients.
*B-cell depletion therapy
B-cell depletion therapies are a form of immunotherapy that aims to inhibit specific cells of the immune system, the so-called B-cells, in their disease-promoting function in MS. B-cells are a group of white blood cells that play a key role in the immune system, particularly in the production of antibodies.
The advantage of this treatment is that it specifically targets the B cells without suppressing the entire immune system, which can reduce side effects compared to other therapies.