Serum Levels of CXCL13 Are Associated With Teriflunomide Response in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To identify biomarkers associated with treatment response in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with the oral therapies teriflunomide, dimethyl fumarate (DMF), and fingolimod. METHODS: Serum levels of IL-6, IL-17, TNF-α, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, IL-10, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) IL-1β, and chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) were measured at baseline and 12 months with single molecule array (Simoa) assays in a cohort of patients with MS treated with teriflunomide (N = 19), DMF (N = 22), and fingolimod (N = 25) and classified into “no evidence of disease activity” (NEDA) and EDA patients after 1 year of treatment. RESULTS: Serum CXCL13 and TNF-α levels were significantly decreased after treatment with teriflunomide in NEDA compared with EDA patients after 1 year of treatment (p = 0.008 for both cytokines). These findings were validated in an independent cohort of patients with MS treated with teriflunomide (N = 36) and serum CXCL13, and TNF-α levels were again significantly reduced in NEDA patients (p < 0.0001 for CXCL13 and p = 0.003 for TNF-α). CXCL13, but not TNF-α, showed good performance to classify NEDA and EDA patients according to a cut-off value of 9.64 pg/mL based on the change in CXCL13 levels between baseline and 12 months, with a sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 82% in the original cohort, and sensitivity of 65.4% and specificity of 60% in the validation cohort. DISCUSSION: Altogether, these results point to CXCL13 as a treatment response biomarker to teriflunomide in relapsing-remitting patients with MS, and the change in CXCL13 levels during the first year of treatment can be used in clinical practice to identify optimal responders to teriflunomide.