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Peripheral innate immunophenotype in neurodegenerative disease: blood-based profiles and links to survival
Strauss A, Swann P, Kigar SL, Christou R, Savinykh Yarkoni N, Turner L, Murley AG, Chouliaras L et al.. Molecular psychiatry, 2024-10-29
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
The innate immune system plays an integral role in the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to central innate immune cells (e.g., microglia), peripheral innate immune cells (e.g., blood monocytes, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells) may also differ in these conditions. However, the characterization of peripheral innate immune cell types across different neurodegenerative diseases remains incomplete. This study aimed to characterize peripheral innate immune profiles using flow cytometry for immunophenotyping of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in n = 148 people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), corticobasal syndrome (CBS), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Lewy body dementia (LBD) as compared to n = 37 healthy controls. To compare groups, we used multivariate dissimilarity analysis and principal component analysis across 19 innate immune cell types. We identified pro-inflammatory profiles that significantly differ between patients with all-cause dementia and healthy controls, with some significant differences between patient groups. Regression analysis confirmed that time to death following the blood test correlated with the individuals' immune profile weighting, positively to TREM2+ and non-classical monocytes and negatively to classical monocytes. Taken together, these results describe transdiagnostic peripheral immune profiles and highlight the link between prognosis and the monocyte cellular subdivision and function (as measured by surface protein expression). The results suggest that blood-derived innate immune profiles can inform sub-populations of cells relevant for specific neurodegenerative diseases that are significantly linked to accelerated disease progression and worse survival outcomes across diagnoses. Blood-based innate immune profiles may contribute to enhanced precision medicine approaches in dementia, helping to identify and monitor therapeutic targets and stratify patients for candidate immunotherapies.
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APA 7th
Strauss, A., Swann, P., Kigar, S. L., Christou, R., Savinykh Yarkoni, N., Turner, L., et al. (2025). Peripheral innate immunophenotype in neurodegenerative disease: blood-based profiles and links to survival. Molecular psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02809-w
Vancouver
Strauss A, Swann P, Kigar SL, Christou R, Savinykh Yarkoni N, Turner L, et al. Peripheral innate immunophenotype in neurodegenerative disease: blood-based profiles and links to survival. Molecular psychiatry. 2025. doi:10.1038/s41380-024-02809-w. PMID: 39472664.
BibTeX
@article{strauss2025-39472664,
author = {Strauss, A. and Swann, P. and Kigar, S. L. and Christou, R. and Savinykh Yarkoni, N. and Turner, L. and Murley, A. G. and Chouliaras, L. and others},
title = {{Peripheral innate immunophenotype in neurodegenerative disease: blood-based profiles and links to survival}},
journal = {Molecular psychiatry},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1038/s41380-024-02809-w},
pmid = {39472664},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02809-w}
}
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
- This study aimed to characterize peripheral innate immune profiles using flow cytometry for immunophenotyping of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in n = 148 people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), corticobasal syndrome (CBS), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Lewy body dementia (LBD) as compared to n = 37 healthy controls.
- We identified pro-inflammatory profiles that significantly differ between patients with all-cause dementia and healthy controls, with some significant differences between patient groups.
- Taken together, these results describe transdiagnostic peripheral immune profiles and highlight the link between prognosis and the monocyte cellular subdivision and function (as measured by surface protein expression).
- The results suggest that blood-derived innate immune profiles can inform sub-populations of cells relevant for specific neurodegenerative diseases that are significantly linked to accelerated disease progression and worse survival outcomes across diagnoses.
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Study details
- Participants148
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 33 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 57 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Molecular psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 148 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| 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 | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39472664) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 33 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 33 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 57 out of 100. |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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