Tau pathology mediated the plasma biomarkers and cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light (NfL) are putative non-amyloid biomarkers indicative of ongoing inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease processes. Hence, this study aimed to demonstrate the relationship between plasma biomarkers (GFAP and NfL) and ¹⁸F-AV-1451 tau PET images, and to explore their effects on cognitive function. Ninety-one participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database and 20 participants from the Shanghai Action of Prevention Dementia for the Elderly (SHAPE) cohort underwent plasma biomarker testing, ¹⁸F-AV-1451 tau PET scans and cognitive function assessments. Within the ADNI, there were 42 cognitively normal (CN) individuals and 49 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Similarly, in the SHAPE, we had 10 CN and 10 MCI participants. We calculated the standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) for the regions of interest (ROIs) in the ¹⁸F-AV-1451 PET scans. Using plasma biomarkers and regional SUVRs, we trained machine learning models to differentiate between MCI and CN subjects with ADNI database and validated in SHAPE.

Results showed that eight selected variables (including left amygdala SUVR, right amygdala SUVR, left entorhinal cortex SUVR, age, education, plasma NfL, plasma GFAP, plasma GFAP/ NfL) identified by LASSO could differentiate between the MCI and CN individuals, with AUC ranging from 0.783 to 0.926. Additionally, cognitive function was negatively associated with the plasma biomarkers and tau deposition in amygdala and left entorhinal cortex. Increased tau deposition in amygdala and left entorhinal cortex were related to increased plasma biomarkers. Moreover, tau pathology mediated the effect of plasma biomarkers level on the cognitive decline. The present study provides valuable insights into the association among plasma markers (GFAP and NfL), regional tau deposition and cognitive function. This study reports the mediation effect of brain regions tau deposition on the plasma biomarkers level and cognitive function, indicating the significance of tau pathology in the MCI patients.