The presynaptic protein bassoon is a biofluid biomarker of synaptic pathology in multiple sclerosis

Neuroaxonal and synaptic loss are hallmarks of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system. However, it remains unclear at which disease stages synaptic pathology occurs. We hypothesised that synaptic proteins in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reflect synaptic injury in MS.

To identify synaptic proteins lost during neuroinflammation, we performed proteomic analysis of synaptoneurosomes from mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the model of MS. The findings were validated by histology in the cortex of EAE mice and postmortem MS tissue. Next, we developed an ELISA with knockout-validated antibodies for the presynaptic protein Bassoon (BSN) and quantified BSN in the cortex, spinal cords and plasma of EAE mice and in the CSF (total n = 30) and serum (total n = 146) of an observational cohort study with people with MS (pwMS) and controls. We further compared longitudinal trajectories of serum BSN (sBSN) and serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) in a cohort of people with primary progressive MS (PPMS) (n = 26) using linear mixed-effects models.

The synaptoneurosome screen revealed reduced levels of several presynaptic proteins, including BSN, in the cortex of EAE mice. The loss of synaptic BSN was validated in EAE and human postmortem tissues of pwMS. Notably, BSN simultaneously accumulated in neuronal soma during EAE and MS, suggesting that BSN may serve as a suitable biomarker for monitoring disease pathology. Our ELISA showed a gradual loss of BSN in the cortex of EAE mice and consistently, plasma BSN levels were elevated in two independent acute and chronic EAE cohorts. In pwMS, BSN was detectable in all CSF samples and in 81% of the serum samples. CSF BSN levels were higher in both relapsing and PPMS compared with controls, whereas sBSN was elevated in secondary progressive MS (SPMS) and PPMS. In the longitudinal PPMS cohort, sBSN and sNfL remained unchanged over an average follow-up of 37 months and did not correlate with each other.

In conclusion, the presynaptic protein BSN can be quantified in plasma and CSF to assess synaptic pathologies. BSN elevation was already detectable at the earliest disease stages and persisted in progressive MS, underscoring continuous neurodegeneration in MS. Measuring synaptic proteins may complement established biomarkers of neuronal injury to enhance our understanding of neurodegeneration in MS.

This work was funded by the Hamburg Innovation Call for Transfer (C4T959 to M.A.F.), Deutschen Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft (V6.2 to M.A.F.). This work is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (FOR 5705, 523862973 to M.A.F., S.C.R., J.B.E.; 247354600, 247377969, 426788273, 518551069, 516868494 to H.S.).