Plasma NT1 tau is associated with hypometabolism in Alzheimer’s disease continuum

Abstract

Objectives: There is a pressing demand for highly sensitive and easily accessible blood-based screening assessments to identify individuals in the preclinical stages who are likely to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD). We aimed to investigate the association between plasma NT1 tau and metabolism in meta-ROI regions including cingulate, angular, and inferior temporal gyrus across the AD continuum.Methods: We retrieved the data of 182 cognitively unimpaired (UC), 339 MCI patients, and 160 AD subjects from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). We analyzed the potential association between plasma NT1 tau levels and FDG-PET SUVR in (MetaROIs) including right and left angular gyri, bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, and left middle/inferior temporal gyrus using simple linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, and APOE ε4 genotype.Results: We found a negative correlation between plasma NT1 tau concentration and FDG-PET SUVR in meta-ROI demonstrating that subjects with a higher level of plasma NT1 tau have hypometabolism in right and left angular gyri, bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus, and left middle/inferior temporal gyrus. In the next, we conducted the models in each of the clinical groups. We found a negative association in CU and AD subjects between plasma NT1 tau concentration and FDG-PET SUVR in meta-ROI. However, there was no association among MCI participants.Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings highlight the value of plasma NT1 tau as a biomarker for AD pathobiology. Based on our findings, plasma NT1 tau is significantly associated with hypometabolism in common AD-affected regions.

Keywords

• alzheimer's disease
• tau
• hypometabolism
• nt1