Cerebrospinal fluid and brain positron emission tomography measures of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A: Biomarkers of synaptic density in Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with ligands for synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) has emerged as a promising methodology for measuring synaptic density in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated associations between SV2A concentrations in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

METHODS

Twenty-one participants with early AD and 7 cognitively normal (CN) individuals underwent [11C]UCB-J PET. We used a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure CSF SV2A. Other synaptic and axonal proteins were also measured in CSF.

RESULTS

CSF SV2A was lower in AD compared to CN participants. Within the AD group, CSF SV2A was highly correlated with SV2A PET. By contrast, other CSF proteins were generally higher in participants with AD and not associated with SV2A PET.

DISCUSSION: We report a novel CSF assay for SV2A that is strongly correlated with the PET measurement of SV2A. Our results suggest that CSF SV2A may serve as a biomarker for synaptic density in AD.

HIGHLIGHTS: Synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) measured by a novel cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was lower in participants with symptomatic Alzheimer's disease (AD). CSF SV2A was highly correlated with SV2A measured by positron emission tomography (PET) in participants with AD. Other CSF synaptic/axonal proteins were not significantly associated with SV2A PET. CSF SV2A may serve as a biomarker for synaptic density in AD.