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Objective: To determine whether plasma phosphorylated‐Tau181 (pTau181) could be used as a diagnostic biomarker of concurrent Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change (ADNC) or amyloidosis alone, as well as a prognostic, monitoring, and susceptibility/risk biomarker for clinical outcomes in Lewy body disease (LBD). Methods: We studied 565 participants: 94 LBD with normal cognition, 83 LBD with abnormal cognition, 114 with Alzheimer's disease, and 274 cognitively normal. Plasma pTau181 levels were measured with the Lumipulse G platform. Diagnostic accuracy for concurrent ADNC and amyloidosis was assessed with Receiver Operating Characteristic curves in a subset of participants with CSF pTau181/Aβ42, and CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 or amyloid‐β PET, respectively. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine the associations between baseline and longitudinal plasma pTau181 levels and clinical outcomes. Results: Plasma pTau181 predicted concurrent ADNC and amyloidosis in LBD with abnormal cognition with 87% and 72% accuracy, respectively. In LBD patients with abnormal cognition, higher baseline plasma pTau181 was associated with worse baseline MoCA and CDR‐SB, as well as accelerated decline in CDR‐SB. Additionally, in this group, rapid increases in plasma pTau181 over 3 years predicted a faster decline in CDR‐SB and memory. In LBD patients with normal cognition, there was no association between baseline or longitudinal plasma pTau181 levels and clinical outcomes; however, elevated pTau181 at baseline increased the risk of conversion to cognitive impairment. Interpretation: Our findings suggest that plasma pTau181 is a promising biomarker for concurrent ADNC and amyloidosis in LBD. Furthermore, plasma pTau181 holds potential as a prognostic, monitoring, and susceptibility/risk biomarker, predicting disease progression in LBD. ANN NEUROL 2024;96:526–538 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that causes substantial morbidity and diminished quality of life. Evidence highlights the central role of myeloid lineage cells in the initiation and progression of MS. However, existing imaging strategies for detecting myeloid cells in the CNS cannot distinguish between beneficial and harmful immune responses. Thus, imaging strategies that specifically identify myeloid cells and their activation states are critical for MS disease staging and monitoring of therapeutic responses. We hypothesized that positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM1) could be used to monitor deleterious innate immune responses and disease progression in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of MS. We first validated TREM1 as a specific marker of proinflammatory, CNS-infiltrating, peripheral myeloid cells in mice with EAE. We show that the 64Cu-radiolabeled TREM1 antibody–based PET tracer monitored active disease with 14- to 17-fold higher sensitivity than translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO)–PET imaging, the established approach for detecting neuroinflammation in vivo. We illustrate the therapeutic potential of attenuating TREM1 signaling both genetically and pharmacologically in the EAE mice and show that TREM1-PET imaging detected responses to an FDA-approved MS therapy with siponimod (BAF312) in these animals. Last, we observed TREM1+ cells in clinical brain biopsy samples from two treatment-naïve patients with MS but not in healthy control brain tissue. Thus, TREM1-PET imaging has potential for aiding in the diagnosis of MS and monitoring of therapeutic responses to drug treatment. Editor's summary: Myeloid cells are involved in the initiation and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Chaney et al. report the development of a PET tracer, [64Cu]TREM1-mAb, that detects triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM1). PET imaging with this tracer enabled early detection of CNS infiltration by myeloid cells and the monitoring of therapeutic responses in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model of MS. TREM1 inhibition using a 17-mer peptide decoy receptor reduced disease severity scores in mice. Using immunohistochemistry, the authors demonstrate that myeloid cells expressing TREM1 are present in white matter brain lesions in biopsy samples from two patients with MS but not from healthy controls. These results highlight the potential application of TREM1 PET imaging for MS diagnosis. —Daniela Neuhofer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The availability of amyloid beta (Aβ) targeting therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasing the demand for scalable biomarkers that are sensitive to early cerebral Aβ accumulation., Methods: We evaluated fully-automated Lumipulse plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 immunoassays for detecting cerebral Aβ in 457 clinically unimpaired (CU) and clinically impaired (CI) Stanford Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (Stanford ADRC) participants and 186 CU in the Stanford Aging and Memory Study (SAMS). Longitudinal change in ADRC plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 and cognition and cross-sectional associations with SAMS memory and tau positron emission tomography (PET) were examined., Results: Plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 exhibited high performance in detecting amyloid positivity defined by PET (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.885, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.816-0.955). Once abnomal, plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 remained low and predicted cognitive decline in both CU and CI individuals. Among SAMS CU, plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 was associated with poorer hippocampal-dependent memory and elevated tau accumulation., Discussion: Lumipulse plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 is a scalable assay for detection of cerebral Aβ and prediction of risk for cognitive decline across the AD continuum., Highlights: Lumipulse plasma amyloid beta (Aβ) 42 /Aβ 40 exhibited high accuracy in detecting amyloid positivity. Plasma amyloid-positive (Aβ+) individuals exhibited stability of Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 over time. Plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 predicted future cognitive decline across the Alzheimer's disease (AD) spectrum. Plasma Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 was sensitive to memory and tau burden in clinically unimpaired older adults., (© 2024 The Author(s). Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)