Biomarkers – FTD Talk

Fluid Biomarkers

Our fluid biomarker team are embedded in the UK Dementia Research Institute Biomarker Lab at UCL run by Henrik Zetterberg and Amanda Heslegrave. We also collaborate with the Mass Spectrometry Lab at the UCL Institute of Child Health run by Kevin Mills. We have recently written a review of fluid biomarkers in FTD, highlighting our work so far and our plans for the future.

Ongoing projects include:

Measurement of markers of neurodegeneration and astrocytosis in FTD
Understanding the role of neuroinflammation in FTD
Development of novel biomarkers of tau and TDP-43 pathology
Validation of assays to measure progranulin
Investigation of lysosomal dysfunction in FTD
Development of a hypothalamic peptide panel
Urinary biomarkers in FTD

Team Members

Postdoctoral Researcher

Aitana Sogorb Esteve

PhD Student

Carolin Heller

PhD Student

Rachelle Shafei

Research Assistant

Imogen Swift

Posters

Connectome 2019 (Birmingham, October 2019): Proteomic differences in FTLD pathologies
ABN Annual Meeting (Edinburgh, May 2019): Proteomic analysis of TDP-43 pathology in frontotemporal dementia
11th ICFTD (Sydney, November 2018): Measuring novel CSF biomarkers in frontotemporal dementia
11th ICFTD (Sydney, November 2018): Plasma GFAP levels are increased in symptomatic FTD mutation carriers within the GENFI cohort
11th ICFTD (Sydney, November 2018): CSF synaptic protein concentrations are raised in those with Alzheimer’s disease pathology but not in those with FTD
First International Symposium on PSP & CBD (London, October 2018): Searching for novel CSF biomarkers of primary tauopathies
EMBO Practical Course – Quantitative proteomics (Heidelberg, June 2018): In search of novel biomarkers of frontotemporal dementia – developing a hypothalamic peptide panel
ABN Annual Meeting (Birmingham, May 2018): Cerebrospinal fluid sTREM2 levels in frontotemporal dementia differ by genetic and pathological subgroup
ARUK Conference 2018 (London, March 2018): Identification of biofluid markers of TDP-43 pathology
AAIC 2017 (London, July 2017): Serum ferritin is increased in a subset of patients with FTD
AAIC 2017 (London, July 2017): Measurement of CSF hypothalamic peptides in frontotemporal dementia
10th ICFTD (Munich, September 2016): Serum neurofilament light chain protein is a measure of disease intensity in frontotemporal dementia
ARUK 2016 (Manchester, March 2016): Serum neurofilament light chain protein is a measure of disease intensity in frontotemporal dementia

Publications

Plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament light chain are measures of disease severity in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia. Heller C, Chan E, Foiani MS, Todd E, Russell LL, Greaves CV, Heslegrave AJ, Warren JD, Zetterberg H, Bocchetta M, Rohrer JD. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2020 (Epub ahead of Print).
Fluid biomarkers in frontotemporal dementia: past, present and future. Swift IJ, Sogorb-Esteve A, Heller C, Synofzik M, Otto M, Graff C, Galimberti D, Todd E, Heslegrave AJ, van der Ende EL, Van Swieten JC, Zetterberg H, Rohrer JD. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2020 (Epub ahead of Print).
Cerebrospinal Fluid YKL-40 and Chitotriosidase Levels in Frontotemporal Dementia Vary by Clinical, Genetic and Pathological Subtype. Woollacott IOC, Nicholas JM, Heller C, Foiani MS, Moore KM, Russell LL, Paterson RW, Keshavan A, Schott JM, Warren JD, Heslegrave A, Zetterberg H, Rohrer JD. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2020:1-21.
Plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein is raised in progranulin-associated frontotemporal dementia. Heller C, Foiani M, Moore KM, Convery R, Bocchetta M, Neason M, Cash DM, Thomas DL, Greaves CV, Woollacott IOC, Shafei R, van Swieten J, Moreno F, Sanchez-Valle R, Borroni B, Laforce Jr R, Masellis M, Tartaglia MC, Graff C, Galimberti D, Rowe JB, Finger E, Synofzik M, Vandenberghe R, de Mendonça A, Tagliavini F, Santana I, Ducharme S, Butler C, Gerhard A, Levin J, Danek A, Frisoni GB, Sorbi S, Otto M, Heslegrave A, Zetterberg H, Rohrer JD, on behalf of GENFI. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2020;91(3):263-270.
CSF synaptic protein concentrations are raised in those with atypical Alzheimer’s disease but not frontotemporal dementia. Clarke MTM, Brinkmalm A, Foiani M, Woollacott IOC, Heller C, Heslegrave A, Keshavan A, Fox NC, Schott JM, Warren JD, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Jonathan Rohrer JD. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2019;11(1):105.
Searching for novel cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of tau pathology in frontotemporal dementia: an elusive quest. Foiani MS, Cicognola C, Ermann N, Woollacott IOC, Heller C, Heslegrave AJ, Keshavan A, Paterson RW, Ye K, Kornhuber J, Fox NC, Schott JM, Warren JD, Lewczuk P, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Höglund K, Rohrer JD. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2019;90(7):740-746.
Review: Fluid Biomarkers for Frontotemporal Dementias. Zetterberg H, van Swieten JC, Boxer AL, Rohrer JD. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol. 2019;45(1):81-87.
Cerebrospinal fluid soluble TREM2 levels in frontotemporal dementia differ by genetic and pathological subgroup. Woollacott IOC, Nicholas JM, Heslegrave A, Heller C, Foiani MS, Dick KM, Russell LL, Paterson RW, Keshavan A, Fox NC, Warren JD, Schott JM, Zetterberg H, Rohrer JD. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2018;10(1):79.
Plasma tau is increased in frontotemporal dementia. Foiani MS, Woollacott IO, Heller C, Bocchetta M, Heslegrave A, Dick KM, Russell LL, Marshall CR, Mead S, Schott JM, Fox NC, Warren JD, Zetterberg H, Rohrer JD. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2018;89(8):804-807.
CSF pro-orexin and amyloid-b38 expression in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. Heywood WE, Hallqvist J, Heslegrave AJ, Zetterberg H, Fenoglio C, Scarpini E, Rohrer JD, Galimberti D, Mills K. Neurobiol Aging. 2018;72:171-176.
Serum neurofilament light chain protein is a measure of disease intensity in frontotemporal dementia. Rohrer JD, Woollacott IO, Dick KM, Brotherhood E, Gordon E, Fellows A, Toombs J, Druyeh R, Cardoso MJ, Ourselin S, Nicholas JM, Norgren N, Mead S, Andreasson U, Blennow K, Schott JM, Fox NC, Warren JD, Zetterberg H. Neurology. 2016;87(13):1329-36.