Home Publications Research Grants Inventions & Patents Awards Additional Research Activities Faculties & Institutions Research Areas

B-Cell Activity Predicts Response to Glatiramer Acetate and Interferon in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Tacke S, Braune S, Rovituso DM, Ziemssen T, Lehmann P, Dikow H, Bergmann A, Kürten S (2021)

---

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Book Volume: 8

Journal Issue: 3

DOI: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000980

Abstract

Objective We investigated the predictive value of the enzyme-linked immunospot technique (ELISPOT) in identifying patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who will respond to treatment with glatiramer acetate (GA) or interferon-beta (IFN-beta), based on the brain-reactive B-cell activity of peripheral blood cells. Methods In this retrospective, cross-sectional, real-world multicenter study, we identified patients with RRMS in the NeuroTransData MS registry and stratified them based on their documented treatment response (relapse-free in the first 12 months of treatment) to GA or IFN-beta. The GA group comprised 73 patients who responded to GA and 35 nonresponders. The IFN-beta group comprised 62 responders to IFN-beta and 37 nonresponders. Patients with previous or current therapy affecting B-cell activity were excluded. We polyclonally stimulated mononuclear cells from peripheral blood samples (collected after participant selection) and investigated brain-reactive B-cell activity after incubation on brain tissue lysate-coated ELISPOT plates. Validity metrics of the ELISPOT testing results were calculated (Python 3.6.8) in relation to the clinical responsiveness in the 2 treatment groups. Results The ELISPOT B-cell activity assay showed a sensitivity of 0.74, a specificity of 0.76, a positive predictive value of 0.78, a negative predictive value of 0.28, and a diagnostic OR of 8.99 in predicting clinical response to GA vs IFN-beta therapy in patients with RRMS. Conclusion Measurement of brain-reactive B-cell activity by ELISPOT provides clinically meaningful predictive probabilities of individual patients' treatment response to GA or IFN-beta. The assay has the potential to improve the selection of optimal first-line treatment for individual patients with RRMS. Classification of Evidence This study provides Class II evidence that in patients with RRMS, the brain reactivity of their peripheral-blood B cells predicts clinical response to GA and IFN-beta.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

How to cite

APA:

Tacke, S., Braune, S., Rovituso, D.M., Ziemssen, T., Lehmann, P., Dikow, H.,... Kürten, S. (2021). B-Cell Activity Predicts Response to Glatiramer Acetate and Interferon in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. Neurology, Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation, 8(3). https://dx.doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000000980

MLA:

Tacke, Sabine, et al. "B-Cell Activity Predicts Response to Glatiramer Acetate and Interferon in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis." Neurology, Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation 8.3 (2021).

BibTeX: Download