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Review
. 2020 Jan 18;10(1):56.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci10010056.

Neurofilaments: The C-Reactive Protein of Neurology

Kate L Lambertsen  1   2   3 , Catarina B Soares  1   2 , David Gaist  1   3   4 , Helle H Nielsen  1   2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Neurofilaments: The C-Reactive Protein of Neurology

Kate L Lambertsen et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Neurofilaments (NFs) are quickly becoming the biomarkers of choice in the field of neurology, suggesting their use as an unspecific screening marker, much like the use of elevated plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) in other fields. With sensitive techniques being readily available, evidence is growing regarding the diagnostic and prognostic value of NFs in many neurological disorders. Here, we review the latest literature on the structure and function of NFs and report the strengths and pitfalls of NFs as markers of neurodegeneration in the context of neurological diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Keywords: biomarker; blood; neuroaxonal damage; plasma; serum.

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Conflict of interest statement

K.L.L. is a member of the Lundbeck Foundation Brain Prize Council. H.H.N. is a member of the research council of the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society and has served on scientific advisory boards and received support for congress participation, speaker honoraria, and research support from Biogen, Merck-Serono, Roche, Teva, Lundbeck, and Novartis.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Neurofilament after neuroaxonal damage. (a) Immunohistochemical staining of neurofilament-positive neurons in post-mortem human ischemic cerebellum tissue. Scale bar: 100 μm. (b) High magnification of squared area in (a) showing neurofilament-positive neurons. Scale bar: 40 μm. Neurofilament immunohistochemical staining was performed on parallel tissue sections from post-mortem ischemic brain tissue used in previous studies [6,7,8,9]. Staining was performed using similar protocols and the following antibody: monoclonal mouse anti-neurofilament (phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated NF-H chain) antibody (clone N52, 1:1000, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA). The use of human brains was approved by the Danish Biomedical Research Ethical Committee for the Region of Southern Denmark (permission number S-20080042). (c) Schematic presentation of neuroaxonal damage leading to neurofilament release. When a neuron and its axon are damaged, neurofilament is released into the extracellular space (A) and subsequently into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood (B), where it can be detected in increased levels following neuroaxonal damage. Abbreviations: BBB, blood–brain barrier; NF, neurofilament.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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