Clinical significance of the cognition-related pathogenic proteins in plasma neuronal-derived exosomes among normal cognitive adults over 45 years old with olfactory dysfunction

OBJECTIVES

Exosomal Phospho-Tau-181(P-T181-tau), Total tau (T-tau), and amyloid-β peptide 42 (Aβ42) have been proved the capacity for the amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to explore the cognitive function and the levels of P-T181-tau, T-tau, and Aβ42 in neuronal-derived exosomes (NDEs) extracted from plasma in normal cognitive adults over 45 years old with olfactory dysfunction.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey of 29 participants aged over 45 was conducted. Plasma exosomes were isolated, precipitated, and enriched by immuno-absorption with anti- L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) antibody. NDEs were characterized by CD81, and extracted NDE protein (P-T181-tau, T-tau, and Aβ42) biomarkers were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISAs). Olfactory performance was assessed by Sniffin' Sticks and cognitive performance was assessed by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

RESULTS

There was no significant difference between adults with olfactory dysfunction and without olfactory dysfunction regarding the cognitive function as measured by MoCA and all the participants showed normal cognition. Adults with olfactory dysfunction showed a higher concentration of P-T181-tau in plasma NDEs than did adults without olfactory dysfunction (P = 0.034). Both the levels of P-T181-tau (r = - 0.553, P = 0.003) and T-tau (r = - 0.417, P = 0.034) negatively correlated with the odor identification scores. In addition, the level of T-tau negatively correlated with MoCA scores (r = - 0.597, P = 0.002). The levels of P-T181-tau (r = - 0.464, P = 0.022) and T-tau (r = - 0.438, P = 0.032) negatively correlated with the delayed recall scores.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that cognition-related pathogenic proteins including P-T181-tau in plasma NDEs were significantly increased in adults over 45 years old with olfactory dysfunction before the occurrence of cognitive impairment. The impaired odor identification and the delayed recall function were highly associated with the increased levels of P-T181-tau and T-tau in plasma NDEs.

Increased prediction value of biomarker combinations for the conversion of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's dementia

BACKGROUND

Progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia can be predicted by clinical features and a combination of biomarkers may increase the predictive power. In the present study, we investigated whether the combination of olfactory function and plasma neuronal-derived exosome (NDE) Aβ_1-42 can best predict progression to AD dementia.

METHODS

87 MCI patients were enrolled and received the cognitive assessment at 2-year and 3-year follow-up to reevaluate cognition. In the meanwhile, 80 healthy controls and 88 AD dementia patients were enrolled at baseline as well to evaluate the diagnose value in cross-section. Olfactory function was evaluated with the sniffin sticks (SS-16) and Aβ_1-42 levels in NDEs were determined by ELISA. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the risk factors for cognitive decline in MCI at 2-year and 3-year revisits.

RESULTS

In the cross cohort, lower SS-16 scores and higher Aβ_1-42 levels in NDEs were found in MCI and AD dementia compared to healthy controls. For the longitudinal set, 8 MCI individuals developed AD dementia within 2 years, and 16 MCI individuals developed AD dementia within 3 years. The two parameter-combination of SS-16 scores and Aβ_1-42 level in NDEs showed better prediction in the conversion of MCI to AD dementia at 2-year and 3-year revisit. Moreover, after a 3-year follow-up, SS-16 scores also significantly predicted the conversion to AD dementia, where lower scores were associated with a 10-fold increased risk of developing AD dementia (p = 0.006). Similarly, higher Aβ_1-42 levels in NDEs in patients with MCI increased the risk of developing AD dementia by 8.5-fold (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

A combination of two biomarkers of NDEs (Aβ_1-42) and SS-16 predicted the conversion of MCI to AD dementia more accurately in combination. These findings have critical implications for understanding the pathophysiology of AD dementia and for developing preventative treatments for cognitive decline.