Absolute Quantification of Aβ1-42 in CSF Using a Mass Spectrometric Reference Measurement Procedure.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease among the elderly and accounts for 60-80% of all cases of dementia. Currently, the diagnosis of AD is based on cognitive tests and mental state exams, but the peptide amyloid-beta (Aβ) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is increasingly used in clinical trials and settings. As for most protein and peptide biomarkers, quantification is performed using antibody-based techniques, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). However, intra- and inter-laboratory variability in these assays hamper its use as a diagnostic marker in clinical routine. An antibody-independent Reference Measurement Procedure (RMP) was developed based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), where stable, isotope-labeled Aβ peptides were used as internal standards, enabling absolute quantification. A high-resolution quadrupole-orbitrap hybrid instrument was used for the measurements. The method allows for the quantification of CSF Aβ1-42 between 150-4,000 pg/mL.