Plasma NfL as a prognostic biomarker for enriching HD-ISS stage 1 categorisation: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The recently proposed Huntington’s Disease Integrated Staging System (HD-ISS) categorises individuals with the Huntintin genetic mutation into disease progression cohorts based on quantitative neuroimaging, cognitive, and functional markers for research purposes. Unfortunately, many research studies do not collect quantitative neuroimaging data, and so the authors of the HD-ISS have subsequently provided approximated cohort thresholds based on disease and clinical data alone. However, these are rough proxies that aim to maximise stage separation, and should not be considered as 1:1 substitutes for the HD-ISS. Notably, no wet biomarker met the stringent criteria required to be considered a landmark for HD-ISS categorisation. We have previously shown that levels of plasma neurofilament light (NfL), a neuronal marker associated with axonal injury, are associated with predicted years to clinical motor diagnosis (CMD). Our objective in the current study was to determine whether HD-ISS categorisation, particularly for stages prior to CMD, could be improved with consideration of plasma NfL levels. METHODS: A total of 290 blood samples, and clinical measures, were collected from participants across all HD-ISS stages: n = 50 [Stage 0], n = 64 [Stage 1], n = 63 [Stage 2], n = 63 [Stage 3], as well as 50 healthy controls. Plasma NfL levels were measured using a Meso Scale Discovery assay. FINDINGS: Cohorts differed by age, cognitive function, CAG repeat length, and select UHDRS measures. Plasma NfL levels also differed significantly across cohorts. Approximately 50% of Stage 1 participants had plasma NfL levels indicative of predicted CMD within ten years. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that plasma NfL levels may have use in enriching Stage 1 membership into sub-groups that are less than, and within, predicted 10 years until CMD. FUNDING: This work was supported by the 10.13039/100000002National Institutes of Health (NS111655 to E.A.T.); the UCSD Huntington’s Disease Society of America Center of Excellence; and the UCSD Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (NIH-NIA P30 AG062429).