We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Proteins Used for Diagnosing ALS

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 20 Nov 2018
Print article
Image: Q Exactive hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer (Photo courtesy of Thermo Fisher Scientific).
Image: Q Exactive hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer (Photo courtesy of Thermo Fisher Scientific).
Proteins have been identified that may be useful in both earlier diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and in more accurate disease prognosis. ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. Currently, there is no effective treatment or cure.

No molecular biomarkers of neither diagnostic nor prognostic value exist for ALS. Diagnosis is often delayed one to two years from symptom onset while other confounding disorders are excluded and appropriate phenotypes present themselves. Since cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is proximal to site of injury, it is more likely to be enriched with biomarkers of ALS compared to plasma and is often the fluid of choice for ALS and other diseases of the central nervous system.

Scientists from North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC, USA) obtained samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood plasma from 33 ALS patients and 30 healthy individuals. The team used mass spectrometry and they identified over 1,000 different proteins in the fluids, and then used advanced machine learning techniques to develop models that consisted of multiple proteins. Nanoflow liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC MS/MS) was performed and peptides were loaded directly on column at a flow rate of 400 nL/min. Peptides were separated at a flow rate of 300 nL/min using a 30 cm self-packed column. Data were collected using a top 12 data-dependent acquisition method on a quadrupole orbitrap.

The team selected two proteins that looked promising for both diagnostic and prognostic applications, and then conducted further analysis to validate their usefulness as biomarkers. The proteins, chitinase-3 like1 and alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, are associated with immune-system activation in the brain and thus could also be used as an objective way to measure effectiveness of current therapies directed at tempering this pathway. Proteins involved in complement activation, acute phase response and retinoid signaling pathways were significantly enriched in the CSF from ALS patients. Interestingly, immune-system activation is also known to play a role in other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, indicating the assays could potentially be used in these diseases as well.

Michael S. Bereman, PhD, an assistant professor and lead author of the study said, “Our goal is to create a panel of protein targets that could give doctors a quicker path to diagnosis for ALS patients, as well as an objective way to measure disease progression, or to test the efficacy of new drugs. Our next steps will be to look at changes in these proteins and their signaling pathways over time in fluids that have been longitudinally collected from ALS patients.” The study was published on November 5, 2018, in the journal Scientific Reports.

Related Links:
North Carolina State University

Gold Member
Troponin T QC
Troponin T Quality Control
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Centromere B Assay
Centromere B Test
New
Myeloperoxidase Assay
IDK MPO ELISA

Print article

Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: Researcher Kanta Horie places a sample in a mass spectrometer that measures protein levels in blood plasma and other fluids (Photo courtesy of WashU Medicine)

Highly Accurate Blood Test Diagnoses Alzheimer’s and Measures Dementia Progression

Several blood tests are currently available to assist doctors in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease in individuals experiencing cognitive symptoms. However, these tests do not provide insights into the clinical... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The findings were based on patients from the ADAURA clinical trial of the targeted therapy osimertinib for patients with NSCLC with EGFR-activated mutations (Photo courtesy of YSM Multimedia Team)

Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions

In the ongoing advancement of personalized medicine, a new study has provided evidence supporting the use of a tool that detects cancer-derived molecules in the blood of lung cancer patients years after... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: Schematic representation illustrating the key findings of the study (Photo courtesy of UNIST)

Breakthrough Diagnostic Technology Identifies Bacterial Infections with Almost 100% Accuracy within Three Hours

Rapid and precise identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is essential for the effective treatment of acute infectious diseases, such as sepsis. The fluorescence in situ hybridization... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.