Current Status of Biomarkers in Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis

Abstract

The discovery of biomarkers in rare diseases is of paramount importance to allow a better diagnosis, improve predictions of outcomes, and prompt the development of new treatments. Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a rare autoimmune disorder associated with the presence of antibodies targeting the GluN1 subunit of the NMDAR. Since it was discovered in 2007, large efforts have been made towards the identification of clinical, paraclinical, and molecular biomarkers to better understand the immune mechanisms that govern the course of the disease as well as to define predictors of treatment response and long-term outcomes. However, most of these biomarkers are still in an exploratory phase, with only a few candidates reaching the final phases of the always-complex process of biomarker development, mainly due to the low incidence of the disease and its recent description. Clinical and paraclinical markers are probably the most widely explored in anti-NMDAR encephalitis, five of them combined in a clinical score to predict 1 year outcome. On the contrary, soluble molecules, such as persistent antibody positivity, antibody titers, cytokines, and other inflammatory mediators, have been proposed as biomarkers of clinical activity, inflammation, prognosis, and treatment response, but further studies are required for their clinical validation including larger and more homogenous cohorts of patients. Similarly, genetic susceptibility biomarkers are still in the exploratory phase and, therefore, weak conclusions can for now only be achieved. Thus, further studies are warranted to define biomarkers and unravel the underlying mechanisms driving rare diseases such as anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Future international collaborative studies with prospective designs that enable the enrollment of large cohorts will allow for the identification and validation of novel biomarkers for clinical decision-making.

Keywords: anti-NMDAR encephalitis; autoimmune encephalitis; biomarker; rare diseases.

Figure 1

Overview of paraclinical and molecular biomarkers proposed in anti-NMDAR encephalitis.

Figure 2

Immunostaining of an adult rat’s brain tissue with CSF (1:10) of a patient with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. A strong reactivity can be observed in the molecular layer (ML) of the hippocampus (A) and the granular layer (GL) of the cerebellum (B). A predominant reactivity with the inner part of the ML in the dentate gyrus is considered a highly suggestive pattern of anti-NMDAR antibodies (C).