Ofatumumab therapy modulates the meningeal lymphatic draining function in patients with multiple sclerosis: a pilot...

Meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs) are critical for central nervous system waste clearance and immunomodulation， implicated in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis. Although ofatumumab is effective in treating relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), its effects on mLVs function remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate its impact on mLVs drainage in RRMS patients.

Fifteen RRMS patients were enrolled in this prospective cohort study with ofatumumab, and nine healthy controls were recruited. Drainage function of mLVs was quantified via dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging at baseline, month 6 and month 12. Correlations between changes in drainage function and immune cell subsets were analyzed.

Following ofatumumab treatment, significant reductions were observed in mean time-to-peak (0.75 to 0.52, p = 0.007) and area under the curve (AUC, 30.70 to 12.67, p = 0.001) within mLVs. Baseline mLVs parameters did not differ between RRMS patients and healthy controls. Change of AUC (ΔAUC) was positively associated with regulatory T cell frequency (ΔTreg, r = 0.539, p = 0.038) and negatively associated with central memory CD4⁺ T cells (ΔTCM, r = -0.535, p = 0.040). Symbol Digit Modalities Test scores were negatively associated with TTP at baseline (r = -0.535, p = 0.040), whereas no correlations were observed between changes in mLVs parameters and clinical outcomes (all p > 0.05).

Ofatumumab improved mLVs drainage in RRMS and was associated with a shift toward regulatory T cell phenotype. These findings suggest that modulation of meningeal lymphatics may contribute to the immunomodulatory effects of anti-CD20 therapy.