Assessment of heterogeneity and disease onset in the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort using the α-synuclein seed amplification assay: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Siderowf Andrew , Concha-Marambio Luis , Lafontant David-Erick , Farris Carly M. , Ma Yihua , Urenia Paula A. , Nguyen Hieu , Alcalay Roy N. , Chahine Lana M. , Foroud Tatiana , Galasko Douglas , Kieburtz Karl , Merchant Kalpana , Mollenhauer Brit , Poston Kathleen L. , Seibyl John , Simuni Tanya , Tanner Caroline M. , Weintraub Daniel , Videnovic Aleksandar , Choi Seung Ho , Kurth Ryan , Caspell-Garcia Chelsea , Coffey Christopher S. , Frasier Mark , Oliveira Luis M. A. , Hutten Samantha J. , Sherer Todd , Marek Kenneth , Soto Claudio 
Published: March 2023

Background

Recent research demonstrates that α-synuclein seed amplification assays (αSyn-SAA) accurately differentiate Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients from healthy controls (HC). We used the well-characterized, multicenter Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort to further assess the diagnostic performance of αSyn-SAA and to examine whether the assay identifies heterogeneity among patients and enables early identification in at-risk groups.

Methods

αSyn-SAA analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was performed using previously described methods. We assessed sensitivity and specificity in PD and HC, including subgroups based on genetic and clinical features. We determined the frequency of positive αSyn-SAA results in prodromal participants (REM sleep behavior disorder and hyposmia) and non-manifesting carriers (NMCs) of genetic variants associated with PD and compared αSyn-SAA to clinical measures and other biomarkers.

Findings

1,123 participants were included: 545 PD, 163 HCs, 54 participants with scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit (SWEDDs), 51 prodromal participants, and 310 NMCs. Sensitivity and specificity for PD versus HC were 88% and 96%, respectively. Sensitivity in sporadic PD with the typical olfactory deficit was 99%. The proportion of positive αSyn-SAA was lower in subgroups including LRRK2 PD (68%) and sporadic PD patients without olfactory deficit (78%). Participants with LRRK2 variant and normal olfaction had an even lower αSyn-SAA positivity rate (35%). Among prodromal and at-risk groups, 86% of RBD and hyposmic cases had positive αSyn-SAA. 8% of NMC (either LRRK2 or GBA) were positive.

Interpretation

This study represents the largest analysis of αSyn-SAA for biochemical diagnosis of PD. Our results demonstrate that the assay classifies PD patients with high sensitivity and specificity, provides information about molecular heterogeneity, and detects prodromal individuals prior to diagnosis. These findings suggest a crucial role for αSyn-SAA in therapeutic development, both to identify pathologically defined subgroups of PD patients and to establish biomarker-defined at-risk cohorts.

Funding

PPMI – a public-private partnership – is funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and funding partners, including: PPMI is supported by a consortium of private and philanthropic parnters: Abbvie, AcureX, Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s, Amathus Therapeutics, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Bial Biotech, Biohaven, Biogen, BioLegend, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Calico Labs, Celgene, Cerevel, Coave, DaCapo Brainscience, 4D Pharma, Denali, Edmond J. Safra Foundation, Eli Lilly, GE Healthcare, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Golub Capital, Insitro, Janssen Neuroscience, Lundbeck, Merck, Meso Scale Discovery, Neurocrine Biosciences, Prevail Therapeutics, Roche, Sanofi Genzyme, Servier, Takeda, Teva, UCB, VanquaBio, Verily, Voyager Therapeutics, and Yumanity.

Research in Context

Evidence before the study

We searched PubMed with the terms Parkinson’s disease (PD), prodromal, Non-manifest carriers, GBA, LRRK2 and real-me quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC), protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), and seed amplification assay (SAA) for articles published in English on or before Oct 25, 2022, in any field. This is a large and rapidly growing literature, and a number of studies were identified, including case-series of PD patients with and without genetic variants, individuals with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), and a small number of studies of non-manifesting carriers of genetic variants (4) associated with PD.

Added value of the study

To our knowledge, this is the largest report of comparative data from a cohort of PD patients, healthy controls, individuals with clinical syndromes prodromal to PD (hyposmia and RBD), and non-manifest carriers ofLRRK2 G2019SandGBA N370Smutations. The strengths of our data include a large sample size, robust clinical data set, a high percentage of DAT scans completed, and the ability to compare non-manifest carriers to similar aged healthy controls, which allows for inter-group comparisons and sub-group analysis. The key novel findings in this study include: 1) marked variability in rates of positive αSyn-SAA results particularly among LRRK2 variant carriers depending on olfactory performance and sex; 2) αSyn-SAA positivity in prodromal and NMCs without dopaminergic imaging abnormalities in a substantial number of cases, while the converse is less common, indicating that αSyn-SAA may be a very early indicator of synucleinopathy. We also confirmed the high diagnostic accuracy of αSyn-SAA for sporadic PD vs. HC and that αSyn-SAA is negative in the vast majority of NMC, suggesting that the presence of synuclein aggregates in CSF is not a life-long trait but rather acquired at some point relatively close to disease onset.

Implications of all available evidence

Our results demonstrate that the assay classifies PD patients with high sensitivity and specificity, provides information about molecular heterogeneity, and detects prodromal individuals prior to diagnosis. These findings suggest a crucial role for αSyn-SAA in therapeutic development, both to identify pathologically defined subgroups of PD patients and to establish biomarker-defined at-risk cohorts.