engleski

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of total tau protein, tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 181 and 199 as markers for early-onset Alzheimer dementia

Background: Abnormal hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau and its incorporation into neurofibrillary tangles are major hallmarks of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of phosphorylated tau proteins reflect the phosphorylation state of tau in the brain. Using monoclonal antibodies, different tau phosphoepitopes can be sensitively detected in CSF. Objective: To determine the diagnostic value of CSF total tau protein (ttau), tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 181 and 199 (p-tau181 and ptau199) in early-onset AD versus healthy controls (HC) and other primary causes of dementia, such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and vascular dementia (VaD). Patients and methods: Patients with clinical diagnosis of MCI (mild cognitive impairment), probable and possible AD, as well as FTD, VaD and HC were included in the study. CSF levels were measured using commercially available ELISA kits (t-tau and p-tau199 - BioSource, Camarillo, CA, USA and p-tau181 - Innogenetics, Ghent, Belgium). Results: Mean CSF t-tau and CSF p-tau181 levels were significantly elevated in AD patients compared to FTD, VaD patients and HC. Additionally, in differentiation between AD versus FTD and VaD, CSF p-tau181 has shown best sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: Our results confirmed earlier findings that p-tau181 may be an useful, promising biological marker for distinguishing AD from other primary causes of dementia (FTD and VaD).

dementia; Alzheimer's disease; biomarkers; early diagnosis; cerebrospinal fluid

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