Neuro Biomarker Levels Measured with High-Sensitivity Digital Elisa Differ Between Serum and Plasma
Open accessAbstract
Aim: Digital ELISA-based assays for blood biomarkers of neurological disease are on the verge of clinical use. Here, we aimed to determine whether different preanalytical blood processing techniques influence results. Materials & methods: Concentrations of neurofilament light chain (NfL), Tau and amyloid beta (Aβ) were measured in human plasma and serum specimens using digital ELISA and compared between blood products. Measured levels of NfL were highly equivalant between serum and plasma in all analyses, however, measured levels of Tau and Aβ were consistently lower in serum relative to plasma. Conclusion: Tau and Aβ are likely lost during clotting in serum preparations, and should be assayed in plasma to get an accurate measure of circulating levels.
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Four studies consistently reported higher NfL levels in serum than in plasma.
“They consistently reported higher NfL levels in serum than in plasma.”
From A Method to Combine Neurofilament Light Measurements From Blood Serum and Plasma in Clinical and Population-Based Studies (2022) · cites this paper as [15]
The Results report no statistically significant difference in NfL between paired serum and plasma specimens; in the unpaired analysis, mean NfL was 19.1% lower in serum, also not statistically significant. The Discussion describes NfL levels as comparable between the two blood products, contrary to a consistently higher serum level. This paper reports its own analyses, not findings from four studies. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn those four studies, strengths of correlation were tested via Spearman's correlation coefficient.
“In all studies, however, strengths of correlation were tested via Spearman's correlation coefficient.”
From A Method to Combine Neurofilament Light Measurements From Blood Serum and Plasma in Clinical and Population-Based Studies (2022) · cites this paper as [15]
We confirm the numerical differences between serum and EDTA-plasma NfL levels that have been found in other studies.
“We confirm the numerical differences between serum and EDTA-plasma NfL levels that have been found in other studies (15–18).”
From A Method to Combine Neurofilament Light Measurements From Blood Serum and Plasma in Clinical and Population-Based Studies (2022) · cites this paper as [15]
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Cites
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Rübsamen, N., Willemse, E. A. J., Leppert, D., Wiendl, H., Nauck, M., Karch, A., Kuhle, J., & Berger, K. (2022) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2022.894119 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
- Authors
- O'Connell, G. C., Alder, M. L., Webel, A. R., & Moore, S. M.
- Affiliations
- Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Case Western Reserve University (US)
- Venue
- Bioanalysis
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-11
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 2087-2094
- ISSN
- 1757-6180 (ISSN-L)
- 1757-6199
- PMC
- PMC7132632
- OpenAlex
- W2994773054
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 6
- FWCI
- 3.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Bioanalysis (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (P30NR015326)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Clinical Laboratory Practices and Quality Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Advanced Biosensing Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- neurofilament light chain, tau protein, amyloid-beta, serum versus plasma, pre-analytical variables, coagulation, digital ELISA, blood biomarkers, neurological disorders, sample matrix effects
- MeSH terms
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Female, Humans, Intermediate Filaments, Male, Middle Aged, Plasma, Biomarkers, Amyloid beta-Peptides, tau Proteins, Serum, Limit of Detection, Healthy Volunteers
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