id_951. ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE BIOMARKERS IN UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD: LEVELS OF P-TAU217 AT BIRTH AND FUTURE AUTISM DIAGNOSIS IN THE MOBA COHORT
Fernando Gonzalez-Ortiz1, Bjørn-Eivind Kirsebom2, Julia K. Gundersen2, Tormod Fladby2
1 Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
2 Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
INTRODUCTION: Blood biomarkers such as p-tau217, GFAP, and NfL are typically interpreted in the context of brain injury or neurodegeneration, mainly Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, their biology at birth, and whether they relate to later neurodevelopmental outcomes remains unclear. In the present study, we evaluated umbilical cord blood biomarkers in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child (MoBa) cohort.
AIM(S): To investigate the associations of AD-related biomarkers in umbilical cord blood and future neurodevelopment
METHOD(S): In this study (n=179), umbilical cord blood GFAP, plasma NfL, and plasma p-tau217 were analyzed using the Simoa HDX platform. We compared matched case–control sets for CP (cerebral palsy diagnosed at age 3 years) and autism (diagnosed at age 14 year). Additionally, we compared newborn biomarker levels against aged-controls and AD. Biomarker levels are presented as median [interquartile range]. Matched-set comparisons were performed using Wilcoxon test.
RESULTS: Consistent with prior reports, cord blood levels of p-tau217 were substantially higher in healthy newborns than in older adult controls and patients with AD (16.2 pg/ml [12.4 – 23.7] vs 1.5 pg/ml [1.2 – 1.8] vs 3.4 pg/ml [2.2 – 4.5] respectively, p < 0.001). In the MoBa cohort, umbilical cord blood p-tau217 was significantly higher in newborns who were later diagnosed with autism compared with matched controls (22.0 pg/ml [12.2 – 25.] vs 16.2 pg/ml [12.4 – 23.7], p = 0.01, Figure 1). No significant increases were observed in NfL (10.1 pg/ml [7.9 – 15.4] vs 14.9 pg/ml [7.9 – 15.8], p = 0.6, Figure 2) or GFAP (642 pg/ml [285 – 926] vs 691 pg/ml [402 – 980], p = 0.2, Figure 3). None of the markers evaluated showed a statistically significant increase in newborns later diagnosed with CP, although GFAP showed a non-significant increase compared with matched controls.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that, in newborns, neonatal p-tau217 may capture neurodevelopment-linked biology rather than classic neurodegenerative amyloid and tau pathology. Our results indicate that cord-blood p-tau217 could represent a window into early brain differences that precede later autism diagnosis. The neonatal p-tau217 differences may point to developmental pathways that could be leveraged for risk stratification and preventive/therapeutic strategies across the lifespan.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT: FG-O is funded by Hjärnfonden (#PD2025-0459), Alzheimerfonden (#AF-1032222) and Demensfonden (#DF-1031511)