The Diagnostic Potential of Circulating Autoantibodies to Amyloid-beta in Alzheimer's Disease

Background: The profile of naturally occurring antibodies to amyloid-beta (NAbs-A beta) is altered in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the diagnostic potential of NAbs-A beta for AD is not clear yet. Objective: This study aims to investigate the diagnostic capacities of NAbs-A beta for AD. Methods: A total of 40 AD patients and 40 cognitively normal (CN) controls were enrolled in this study. Levels of NAbs-A beta were detected by ELISA. The correlations of NAbs-A beta levels with cognitive function and AD-associated biomarkers were examined by Spearman correlation analysis. Diagnostic abilities of NAbs-A beta were evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. The integrative diagnostic models were established by logistic regression models. Results: We found that NAbs-A beta 7-18 had the highest diagnostic capability (AUC= 0.72) among all single NAbs-A beta. The combined model (NAbs-A beta 7-18, NAbs-A beta 19-30, and NAbs-A beta 25-36) had a noticeable improvement (AUC= 0.84) in the diagnostic capacity compared with each single NAbs-A beta. Conclusion: NAbs-A beta s are promising in the diagnosis of AD. Further investigations are needed to confirm the translational potential of this diagnostic strategy.