Moderating effects of plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein along the Alzheimer's disease continuum

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) may contribute to Alzheimer's pathology at early disease stages. GFAP moderation of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related neurodegeneration and cognition is unclear.

We examined plasma GFAP moderation of AD biomarkers (amyloid beta [Aβ]-positron emission tomography [PET][A]; plasma phosphorylated tau-181 [p-tau181][T₁]), neurodegeneration (plasma NfL[N_plasma]; structural magnetic resonance imaging [MRI][N_MRI]), and cognition (Cog_memory; Cog_executive) in two cohorts: University of California San Francisco (UCSF) (N = 212, 91.0% non-Hispanic/Latino White [NHLW], age = 74.7 [7.6] years, 75.9% cognitively unimpaired [CU]) and 1Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (1FLADRC; N = 582, 32.8% NHLW, age = 70.7 [8.5] years, 28.9% CU).

Plasma GFAP consistently moderated A-T₁ (UCSF: β = 0.46, p = 0.012; 1FLADRC: β = 0.12, p = 0.029). The association between elevated Aβ-PET and increased (p-tau) was strengthened at higher GFAP concentrations. In 1FLADRC, GFAP moderated T₁-N_plasma/MRI. In UCSF, GFAP moderated T₁-Cog_{memory/executive} and N_MRI-Cog_{memory/executive}. Higher GFAP consistently related to worse neurodegeneration and cognition (main effects).

Across demographically and clinically heterogeneous cohorts, plasma GFAP is a key moderator of AD and may help identify individuals at greatest risk of AD-related neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.

AD biomarkers were measured in two demographically and clinically distinct cohorts. Plasma GFAP moderated Aβ-PET to p-tau associations in both UCSF and 1FLADRC. Cohort-dependent, GFAP moderated p-tau to neurodegeneration and cognition associations. All moderations revealed strengthened disease associations with higher plasma GFAP. Plasma GFAP may help identify individuals at greatest risk of AD-related decline.