# Blood amyloid-beta relationship with amyloid plaques and CSF amyloid-beta

> **NIH NIH RF1** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $1,180,828

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Amyloid-beta (Aβ) has been shown to be critical in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ and amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) tracers are established
biomarkers for detecting amyloid plaques in the brain. Current screening for clinical trials, especially prevention
trials, are hampered by complex, expensive or invasive procedures, with limited availability. Our overall goal is
to determine the relationship between blood plasma Aβ and the presence of amyloid plaques in the human
brain to improve screening for AD trials and to validate an AD blood test. The relationship and timing of blood
Aβ changes relative to amyloid PET measures of plaques and CSF Aβ are not understood. There are several
questions that have not been addressed before: ‘Does blood Aβ change before, at the same time or after
changes in CSF or amyloid PET?’, ‘What demographic, clinical, or genetic factors influence plasma Aβ?‘. We
hypothesize that abnormal plasma Aβ is predictive of abnormal CSF Aβ and amyloid PET. In Aim 1, we will
leverage existing plasma and CSF samples from regional, national and international studies to test our
hypothesis in well-characterized research cohorts. We will use longitudinal samples to investigate the temporal
sequence of changes of plasma Aβ, CSF Aβ, and amyloid PET to understand at which stage of AD plasma Aβ
becomes abnormal. We will also look at several cofactors to determine their impact on plasma Aβ measures of
brain amyloid plaques, including age and APOE ϵ4. In Aim 2, we will implement a cross-sectional clinical study
in diverse community and clinic-based populations, using the blood Aβ test to screen individuals for
amyloidosis with confirmation using amyloid PET. Based on the results of the blood amyloid test, a subset of
participants will follow-up with confirmatory amyloid PET and repeat blood collection and tests. This will allow
us to compare the blood Aβ test to the current gold standard of amyloid PET scans.
 The proposed work builds on the prior pioneering approach that has influenced the understanding of the
role of Aβ in the amyloid hypothesis and pathophysiological causes of AD. We have extended this approach
with significantly improved techniques, and discovery of a blood Aβ signature of amyloid plaques. We now
seek to validate the test in a real-world study with a diverse observational study. These studies will lay the
groundwork for rapid deployment to accelerate enrollment of AD trials and clinical diagnosis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10077729
- **Project number:** 3RF1AG061900-10A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** RANDALL J BATEMAN
- **Activity code:** RF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,180,828
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10077729

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10077729, Blood amyloid-beta relationship with amyloid plaques and CSF amyloid-beta (3RF1AG061900-10A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10077729. Licensed CC0.

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