CSF levels of the somatodendritic protein MAP2 are increased in ALS and predict shorter survival.

Abstract

Previous proteomic work has identified the somatodendritic protein MAP2 as a new candidate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We measured CSF levels of MAP2 and neurofilament light chain (NFL) in a retrospective cohort of 251 patients with ALS and 108 neurological controls (NCs). Patients with ALS had a higher median CSF MAP2 level compared with NCs, leading to an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.7080 (p<0.0001). They also had a higher median CSF NFL level (p<0.0001), resulting in an excellent diagnostic performance (AUC=0.9641; p<0.0001). Among patients with ALS, CSF MAP2 correlated with disease progression rate (DPR) (r=0.3099; p<0.0001) and was negatively associated with survival (HR=3.174). CSF NFL also correlated with DPR (r=0.4936; p<0.0001) and was negatively associated with survival (HR=2.759). The association of MAP2 with DPR was independent from NFL (p=0.0037). Stratifying patients based on median levels of both biomarkers resulted in significant differences in median survival times (low NFL/low MAP2, 66 months; high NFL/low MAP2 and vice versa, 35 months; high NFL/high MAP2, 26 months; p<0.0001). MAP2 was also associated with genetic status in patients with ALS, as patients with no mutations in <i>C9ORF72</i> or in <i>SOD1</i>, as well as <i>C9ORF72</i>-positive ones, had higher median levels compared with NCs (p<0.0001), while patients with <i>SOD1</i> mutations did not significantly differ from NCs (p>0.9999). Our study shows that the somatodendritic protein MAP2 is a promising candidate CSF biomarker for ALS.