Soluble CD27 was the best biomarker of active intrathecal T-cell activation and inflammation in multiple sclerosis patients, according to Dr. Mika Komori and associates.
While the combination of all known existing biomarkers could only accurately diagnose MS 61.5% of the time, sCD27 was able to diagnose the disease correctly in all of the trial cases. Statistical analysis also showed that sCD27 was superior to the IgG index (area under the curve = 0.97 vs. area under the curve = 0.92). While no other biomarker was as effective as sCD27, sCD21 and sCD14 provided useful information about B cells and monocytes, respectively.
“The described combinatorial CSF biomarkers may facilitate the screening of such novel immunomodulatory therapies for progressive MS,” the researchers wrote. “Combinations of biomarkers and clinical data may validate surrogacy (or predictive value) of the biomarker for clinical outcome, which would open the era of rational personalized medicine to the neuroimmunology field,” they concluded.
Find the full study in the Annals of Neurology (doi: 10.1002/ana.24408).