Summary:
Alamar Biosciences has expanded its NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120 to include highly sensitive, blood-based assays for brain-derived phosphorylated tau proteins, enhancing early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Takeaways:

  1. New assays for pTau217, pTau181, pTau231, and total tau now allow direct detection of brain-derived tau proteins from blood samples.
  2. Improved specificity enables researchers to distinguish between central and peripheral tau, a key advancement in Alzheimer’s biomarker research.
  3. Clinical impact includes better diagnostic accuracy, faster biomarker discovery, and accelerated drug development for neurodegenerative disorders.

Alamar Biosciences, a company powering precision proteomics to enable the earliest detection of disease, today announced the expansion of its NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120 to include novel assays for brain-derived phosphorylated tau (pTau) proteins. The enhanced panel now features brain-derived pTau217, pTau181, pTau231, and total tau (tTau) protein measured directly from blood samples—delivering unprecedented sensitivity and specificity for the study of neurodegenerative diseases.

“Researchers have long sought a reliable, blood-based solution to track brain-derived tau pathology,” says Dr. Yuling Luo, CEO, Founder and Chairman of Alamar Biosciences. “By integrating assays for pTau217, pTau181, pTau231, and total tau into our NULISAseq CNS Disease 120 Panel, we are enabling scientists to explore the full spectrum of tau pathology with exceptional sensitivity and throughput. This advancement is poised to accelerate biomarker-driven research and drug development in Alzheimer’s Disease and related neurodegenerative disorders.”

Phosphorylated tau has emerged as a critical biomarker for early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies. The new additions to the CNS Disease 120 Panel are specifically designed to detect brain-derived forms of pTau, overcoming the limitations of current assays that cannot distinguish between peripheral and central tau species. This allows for the simultaneous measurement of two suites of multiple pTaus and tTau species, one specific for brain-derived and one combining brain- and peripheral tissue-derived Tau species.

“The ability to detect brain-derived pTau species directly from blood represents a transformative step in the early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related disorders,” says Nicholas Ashton, PhD, Director of Neurodegenerative Biomarker Research at Banner Health. “Until now, we’ve been unable to differentiate between brain-derived and peripheral pTaus in a multiplexed manner. Recent evidence has underlined the importance of being able to detect brain-derived pTau for greater specificity for AD. Alamar’s new CNS panel offers an unprecedented opportunity to further improve the diagnostic accuracy and clinical utilities of these biomarkers, which will dramatically impact patient care and clinical research.”

Featured Image: NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120. Image: Alamar Biosciences