Klaus Schmierer1,2,
Dan Tozer2, Axel Petzold2,3
1Barts and the London
School of Medicine & Dentistry, London, England, United Kingdom; 2Neuroinflammation,
UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom; 3Free
University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the phosphorylation and thus the proton binding capacity of axonal neurofilament (Nf) proteins. Macromolecules can be quantified using magnetization transfer ratio (MTR). We explored in post mortem brain of 12 patients with MS whether in non-lesional white matter (NLWM) MTR is associated with Nf phosphoforms, as a biomarker of axonal phosphorylation in NLWM. Indeed, the concentration of hyperphosphorylated Nf correlated with T1 (r=0.7; p= 0.01) and (inversely) with MTR (r=-0.76 p<0.01) (fig 3) suggesting that both MTR and T1may be markers of axonal integrity in NLWM.