Home › Research › Biomarkers
Elevation in Plasma p-tau217 Concentrations Among Blood Donors: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study
Li, X.; Zhang, W.; Wang, R.; Tint, H.; Fu, S.; Quan, Q.; Liang, F.; Tint et al.. medRxiv (preprint), 2026-09-24
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Plasma p-tau217 concentrations were positively associated with plasma TNF- (Kendalls {tau} = 0.339; P < .001) and IL-6 (Kendalls {tau} = 0.310; P < .001) concentrations. Exploratory transcriptomic analyses identified gene expression patterns associated with p-tau217 concentrations. Conclusions and RelevancePlasma p-tau217 and BD-tau concentrations exceeded exploratory study-specific thresholds in a subset of blood-donor samples, and higher p-tau217 concentrations were associated with inflammatory biomarkers and exploratory transcriptomic differences. These findings raise the possibility of elevated circulating tau species in some blood donors, but their clinical significance requires confirmation. Key PointsQuestion: How commonly are plasma p-tau217 and brain-derived tau concentrations elevated in blood donors, and are these elevations associated with systemic inflammatory and transcriptomic signatures? Higher p-tau217 concentrations were associated with inflammatory biomarkers and exploratory differences in gene expression. Meaning: These findings raise the possibility of elevated circulating tau species in blood donor, although confirmation is needed to establish whether these concentrations represent clinically meaningful elevations.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Li, X., Zhang, W., Wang, R., Tint, H., Fu, S., Quan, Q., et al. (2026). Elevation in Plasma p-tau217 Concentrations Among Blood Donors: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study. medRxiv (preprint). https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.23.26363733
Vancouver
Li X, Zhang W, Wang R, Tint H, Fu S, Quan Q, et al. Elevation in Plasma p-tau217 Concentrations Among Blood Donors: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study. medRxiv (preprint). 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.09.23.26363733.
BibTeX
@article{li2026-81db28dc,
author = {Li, X. and Zhang, W. and Wang, R. and Tint, H. and Fu, S. and Quan, Q. and Liang, F. and Tint and others},
title = {{Elevation in Plasma p-tau217 Concentrations Among Blood Donors: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study}},
journal = {medRxiv (preprint)},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.23.26363733},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.23.26363733}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Plasma p-tau217 concentrations were positively associated with plasma TNF- (Kendalls {tau} = 0.339; P < .001) and IL-6 (Kendalls {tau} = 0.310; P < .001) concentrations.
- Exploratory transcriptomic analyses identified gene expression patterns associated with p-tau217 concentrations.
- Conclusions and RelevancePlasma p-tau217 and BD-tau concentrations exceeded exploratory study-specific thresholds in a subset of blood-donor samples, and higher p-tau217 concentrations were associated with inflammatory biomarkers and exploratory transcriptomic differences.
- These findings raise the possibility of elevated circulating tau species in some blood donors, but their clinical significance requires confirmation.
- Key PointsQuestion: How commonly are plasma p-tau217 and brain-derived tau concentrations elevated in blood donors, and are these elevations associated with systemic inflammatory and transcriptomic signatures?
Why it matters
Some blood donors had higher levels of a tau protein marker (p-tau217) than expected, and these higher levels were linked to markers of inflammation. The researchers say it is unclear whether these elevations are clinically meaningful, so this is an early finding that needs confirmation and does not show any treatment or prevention.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 27 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on impact for its field and year and senior author's track record, so those were left out: it earned 24 of the 90 points we could judge it on, which is 27 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (medRxiv (preprint)) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 0 / 7 | Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Zhongcong Xie holds only 4 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 24 / 90 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 24 of the 90 points we could judge it on is 27 out of 100. |
| Total | 27 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Related studies in Biomarkers
Also tagged “phosphorylated”
733 studies in the library carry the topic tag “phosphorylated”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 733 tagged studies.