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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurological Biomarkers
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1515252

sTREM2 cerebrospinal fluid levels are a potential biomarker in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and associate with UMN burden

Provisionally accepted
Lin Jiao Lin Jiao Jing Yang Jing Yang *Wenjing Wang Wenjing Wang Xiangyi Liu Xiangyi Liu Yu Fu Yu Fu *Dongsheng Fan Dongsheng Fan *
  • Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The aims of this study were to investigate whether CSF sTREM2 may be a potential marker of disease monitoringsurveillance for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods We investigated whether CSF sTREM2 levels are altered in ALS patients and are correlated with upper motor neuron (UMN) burden and disease progression.CSF sTREM2 was greater in the ALS patients than in the controls (p = 0.002). Elevated CSF sTREM2 was associated with the UMN score (r = 0.38, p = 0.009), ΔFS (r = 0.30, p = 0.04) and serum NFL (lg) (r = 0.35, p = 0.015). As the motor band sign (MBS)MBS score increased, the CSF sTREM2 level increased (P-trend = 0.014). Furthermore, the correlations became stronger (UMN score (r = 0.50, p = 0.01)△FRS (r = 0.52, p = 0.008) and serum NFL (lg) (r = 0.55, p = 0.004) when estimated only among patients with a disease duration > 12 months.We found that CSF sTREM2 is elevated in ALS patients and may be a novel marker, probably reflecting upper motor unit severity and prognosis.In particular, lower motor neuron (LMN ) burden can be quantified by electromyography, but few reliable biomarkers are available to quantify upper motor neuron (UMN) impairment.Research on postmortem tissue and animal models has revealed an association between microglia and ALS(3, 4). The intricate cellular interplay between immune cells and upper motor neurons has been observed in the motor cortex of both ALS mice and ALS patients(5). Axonal loss in the corticospinal tract is associated with microglia(6).

    Keywords: Soluble TREM2, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, MBS, UMN burden

    Received: 22 Oct 2024; Accepted: 28 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jiao, Yang, Wang, Liu, Fu and Fan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jing Yang, Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian, China
    Yu Fu, Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian, China
    Dongsheng Fan, Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian, China

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