A critical evaluation of inflammatory markers in Huntington's Disease plasma

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a hereditary, progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by both neurological and systemic symptoms. In HD, immune changes can be observed before the onset of overt clinical features raising the possibility that inflammatory markers in plasma could be used to track disease progression. It has previously been demonstrated that a widespread, progressive innate immune response is detectable in plasma throughout the course of HD.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of several components of inflammation and innate immunity as plasma biomarkers in HD.

We utilised antibody-based detection technologies as well as mass spectrometric quantification, multiple reaction monitoring (MRM-MS).

Levels of several markers previously described as altered in HD, such as clusterin, complement component 4, complement component 9 and α-2 macroglobulin did not differ between healthy controls and HD subjects as measured by Luminex, ELISA or MRM-MS. C-reactive protein was decreased in early HD, while the other immune markers tested were unaltered.

Although only C-reactive protein was found to be reduced in early HD, some of the inflammatory markers measured correlated with clinical measures.