Biodistribution of lipid nanoparticle, eGFP mRNA and translated protein following subcutaneous administration in mouse.

Increased knowledge of biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated mRNA drug components may aid efficacy and safety evaluation. Mice were subcutaneously administrated LNP encapsulated enhanced green fluorescent protein mRNA and sampled up to 72 h after dosing. LNP, mRNA and translated protein were quantified by LC-MS, branched DNA and ELISA.

Preclinical longitudinal assessment of KG207-M as a disease-modifying Alzheimer's disease therapeutic.

biomarker abnormalities provide measures to monitor therapeutic interventions targeting amyloid-β pathology as well as its effects on downstream processes associated with Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology. Here, we applied an longitudinal study design combined with imaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, mirroring those used in human clinical trials to assess the efficacy of a novel brain-penetrating anti-amyloid fusion protein treatment in the McGill-R-Thy1-APP transgenic rat model. The bi-functional fusion protein consisted of a blood-brain barrier crossing single domain antibody (FC5) fused to an amyloid-β oligomer-binding peptide (ABP) via Fc fragment of mouse IgG (FC5-mFc2a-ABP).

Urinary Kidney Biomarker Panel Detects Preclinical Antisense Oligonucleotide-Induced Tubular Toxicity.

Sensitive kidney safety assessment is important for successful drug development in both preclinical and clinical stages. The Food and Drug Administration recently qualified a composite measure of 6 urine creatinine-normalized biomarkers, such as clusterin, cystatin C, kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and osteopontin, for monitoring kidney toxicity in early clinical trials. The qualification was based on small molecule drugs in humans, and the full panel has not been assessed in other species or for other drug modalities.

Amyloid-beta modulates the association between neurofilament light chain and brain atrophy in Alzheimer's disease.

Neurofilament light chain (NFL) measurement has been gaining strong support as a clinically useful neuronal injury biomarker for various neurodegenerative conditions. However, in Alzheimer's disease (AD), its reflection on regional neuronal injury in the context of amyloid pathology remains unclear. This study included 83 cognitively normal (CN), 160 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 73 AD subjects who were further classified based on amyloid-beta (Aβ) status as positive or negative (Aβ+ vs Aβ-).

Dissection of synaptic pathways through the CSF biomarkers for predicting Alzheimer disease.

Objective: To assess the ability of a combination of synaptic CSF biomarkers to separate Alzheimer disease (AD) and non-AD disorders and to help in the differential diagnosis between neurocognitive diseases.

Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional monocentric study. All participants explored with CSF assessments for neurocognitive decline were invited to participate.

Cerebrospinal fluid growth-associated protein 43 in multiple sclerosis.

Neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) correlates with disease progression and reparative processes may be triggered. Growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) exhibits induced expression during axonal growth and reduced expression during MS progression. We aimed to evaluate if GAP-43 can serve as a biomarker of regeneration in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and whether disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) influence GAP-43 concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Leptin deficiency reverses high metabolic state and weight loss without affecting central pathology in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Body weight has been shown to be a predictor of clinical progression in Huntington's disease (HD). Alongside widespread neuronal pathology, both HD patients and the R6/2 mouse model of HD exhibit weight loss and increased energy expenditure, providing a rationale for targeting whole-body energy metabolism in HD. Leptin-deficient mice display low energy expenditure and increased body weight.

Transient increase in CSF GAP-43 concentration after ischemic stroke.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers reflect ongoing processes in the brain. Growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) is highly upregulated in brain tissue shortly after experimental ischemia suggesting the CSF GAP-43 concentration may be altered in ischemic brain disorders. CSF GAP-43 concentration is elevated in Alzheimer's disease patients; however, patients suffering from stroke have not been studied previously.

Association of Cerebrospinal Fluid Neurofilament Light Protein Levels With Cognition in Patients With Dementia, Motor Neuron Disease, and Movement Disorders.

Importance: Neuronal and axonal destruction are hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases, but it is difficult to estimate the extent and progress of the damage in the disease process.

Objective: To investigate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of neurofilament light (NFL) protein, a marker of neuroaxonal degeneration, in control participants and patients with dementia, motor neuron disease, and parkinsonian disorders (determined by clinical criteria and autopsy), and determine its association with longitudinal cognitive decline.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this case-control study, we investigated NFL levels in CSF obtained from controls and patients with several neurodegenerative diseases.

Expression and secretion of synaptic proteins during stem cell differentiation to cortical neurons.

Synaptic function and neurotransmitter release are regulated by specific proteins. Cortical neuronal differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) provides an experimental model to obtain more information about synaptic development and physiology in vitro. In this study, expression and secretion of the synaptic proteins, neurogranin (NRGN), growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43), synaptosomal-associated protein-25 (SNAP-25) and synaptotagmin-1 (SYT-1) were analyzed during cortical neuronal differentiation.

Elevated CSF GAP-43 is Alzheimer's disease specific and associated with tau and amyloid pathology.

Introduction: The level of the presynaptic protein growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has previously been shown to be increased in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and thus may serve as an outcome measure in clinical trials and facilitate earlier disease detection.

Methods: We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for CSF GAP-43 and measured healthy controls (n = 43), patients with AD (n = 275), or patients with other neurodegenerative diseases (n = 344). In a subpopulation (n = 93), CSF GAP-43 concentrations from neuropathologically confirmed cases were related to Aβ plaques, tau, α-synuclein, and TDP-43 pathologies.

The anti-asthmatic drug, montelukast, modifies the neurogenic potential in the young healthy and irradiated brain.

Brain tumors are the most common form of solid tumors in children. Due to the increasing number of survivors, it is of importance to prevent long-term treatment-induced side effects. Montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, may have the desired neuroprotective properties.

Neurofilament light chain as disease biomarker in a rodent model of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy.

The objective of this study is to test the feasibility of using serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) as a disease biomarker in Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) since this easy accessible biological test may have a large impact on clinical management and safety of cancer patients. We performed this preclinical study using a well-characterized rat model based on repeated administration of the cytostatic drug vincristine (VCR, 0.2 mg/kg intravenously via the tail vein once/week for 4 times).

Cerebrospinal fluid neurogranin concentration in neurodegeneration: relation to clinical phenotypes and neuropathology.

Neurogranin (Ng) is a post-synaptic protein that previously has been shown to be a biomarker for synaptic function when measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The CSF concentration of Ng is increased in Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD), and even in the pre-dementia stage. In this prospective study, we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that quantifies Ng in CSF to test the performance of Ng as a marker of synaptic function.

Plasma neurofilament light chain concentration in the inherited peripheral neuropathies.

Objective: To perform a cross-sectional study to determine whether plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) concentration is elevated in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) and if it correlates with disease severity.

Methods: Blood samples were collected from 75 patients with CMT and 67 age-matched healthy controls over a 1-year period. Disease severity was measured using the Rasch modified CMT Examination and neuropathy scores.

Neurofilament light protein in CSF and blood is associated with neurodegeneration and disease severity in Huntington's disease R6/2 mice.

There is an unmet need to reliably and non-invasively monitor disease progression in preclinical Huntington's disease (HD) models. As a marker of axonal damage, neurofilament light chain (NfL) has been suggested a marker for neurodegeneration. NfL concentrations in blood and CSF were recently shown to have prognostic value for clinical HD progression and brain atrophy.

Serum concentrations of the axonal injury marker neurofilament light protein are not influenced by blood-brain barrier permeability.

A blood biomarker to monitor individual susceptibility to neuronal injury from cranial radiotherapy could potentially help to individualize radiation treatment and thereby reduce the incidence and severity of late effects. An important feature of such a blood biomarker is that its concentration is not confounded by varying degrees of release from the brain into the blood across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In this study, we investigated serum neurofilament light protein (NFL) concentrations in 21-day old mice following a single dose of cranial irradiation (8Gy).

Comparison of three analytical platforms for quantification of the neurofilament light chain in blood samples: ELISA, electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and Simoa.

Background: Neuronal damage is the morphological substrate of persisting neurological disability. Neurofilaments (Nf) are specific cytoskeletal proteins of neurons and their quantification has shown encouraging results as a biomarker for axonal injury.

Methods: We aimed at comparing a widely used conventional ELISA for Nf light chain (NfL) with an electrochemiluminescence-based method (ECL assay) and a newly developed single-molecule array (Simoa) method in clinically relevant cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples.