# Project 1 Biomarkers

> **NIH NIH U19** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $571,271

## Abstract

PROJECT 1: SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The goal of Project 1, entitled ‘Synaptic and Inflammatory Markers for Preclinical AD’ is to examine several
new measures related to synaptic function and systemic inflammation to determine their value as biomarkers
for preclinical AD. These analyses will use longitudinally collected CSF and blood specimens from BIOCARD
participants to evaluate these measures. For the synaptic markers, there are two primary aims: (1) to
measure NPTX2, a synaptic protein, and related markers NPTX1 and NPTXR in CSF, and examine their
relationship with the clinical, cognitive and biomarker data previously collected in the BIOCARD participants;
and (2) to examine a blood-based assay that measures NPTX2 and related proteins in neural exosomes
isolated from blood and determine if it has a similar association with comparable measures obtained from CSF.
For the inflammatory markers, there are two primary aims: (1) to measure 3 key inflammatory biomarkers
in blood (IL-6, TNFR1, and CRP) and examine their relationship with the clinical, cognitive and biomarker data
previously collected in the BIOCARD participants; and (2) to conduct targeted exploratory metabolomic
analyses in both blood and CSF samples, in order to identify inflammatory pathways that may be involved in
preclinical AD. Overall, these studies will determine if the changes in these synaptic and inflammatory markers
during preclinical AD can provide insights into measures that might be useful for a clinical trial in preclinical AD
(i.e., for either selecting subjects to include in a clinical trial or for tracking response to treatment in a clinical
trial), and/or provide insights into the underlying neurobiological processes that are evolving during the
preclinical phase of AD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10169198
- **Project number:** 5U19AG033655-13
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** PAUL F WORLEY
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $571,271
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-07-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10169198

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10169198, Project 1 Biomarkers (5U19AG033655-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10169198. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*