Development and Technical Validation of an Immunoassay for the Detection of APP<sub>669–711</sub> (Aβ<sub>−3–40</sub>) in Biological Samples

oleh: Hans W. Klafki, Petra Rieper, Anja Matzen, Silvia Zampar, Oliver Wirths, Jonathan Vogelgsang, Dirk Osterloh, Lara Rohdenburg, Timo J. Oberstein, Olaf Jahn, Isaak Beyer, Ingolf Lachmann, Hans-Joachim Knölker, Jens Wiltfang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-09-01

Deskripsi

The ratio of amyloid precursor protein (APP)<sub>669–711</sub> (Aβ<sub>−3–40</sub>)/Aβ<sub>1–42</sub> in blood plasma was reported to represent a novel Alzheimer’s disease biomarker. Here, we describe the characterization of two antibodies against the N-terminus of Aβ<sub>−3–x</sub> and the development and “fit-for-purpose” technical validation of a sandwich immunoassay for the measurement of Aβ<sub>−3–40</sub>. Antibody selectivity was assessed by capillary isoelectric focusing immunoassay, Western blot analysis, and immunohistochemistry. The analytical validation addressed assay range, repeatability, specificity, between-run variability, impact of pre-analytical sample handling procedures, assay interference, and analytical spike recoveries. Blood plasma was analyzed after Aβ immunoprecipitation by a two-step immunoassay procedure. Both monoclonal antibodies detected Aβ<sub>−3–40</sub> with no appreciable cross reactivity with Aβ<sub>1–40</sub> or N-terminally truncated Aβ variants. However, the amyloid precursor protein was also recognized. The immunoassay showed high selectivity for Aβ<sub>−3–40</sub> with a quantitative assay range of 22 pg/mL–7.5 ng/mL. Acceptable intermediate imprecision of the complete two-step immunoassay was reached after normalization. In a small clinical sample, the measured Aβ<sub>42</sub>/Aβ<sub>−3–40</sub> and Aβ<sub>42</sub>/Aβ<sub>40</sub> ratios were lower in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type than in other dementias. In summary, the methodological groundwork for further optimization and future studies addressing the Aβ<sub>42</sub>/Aβ<sub>−3–40</sub> ratio as a novel biomarker candidate for Alzheimer’s disease has been set.