Evaluating the complement C1q levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid in multiple sclerosis patients: Could it serve as a valuable marker in clinical practice?

Abstract

Immunohistochemical studies have identified complement component C1q in MS lesions. We aimed to compare serum (sC1q) and CSF (csfC1q) levels in a large cohort of MS patients (pwMS) (n = 222) with those of healthy controls (HC, n = 52), individuals with other immune (IND, n = 14), and non-immune neurological disorders (nIND, n = 15), and to analyze their correlation with other biomarkers. pwMS were divided into three series based on their origin. CSF samples were unavailable for HC. All three pwMS cohorts had lower sC1q levels compared to HC and IND. csfC1q was higher in one pwMS cohort, with a trend in another, and correlated with IgG, Free Kappa Light Chains, GFAP, and Chitinase-3 Like Protein-1 in CSF. Our findings suggest a significant role for C1q in MS pathophysiology, potentially serving as a biomarker for disease identification.

Keywords: Biomarkers; C1q; Complement system; Disease activity; Multiple sclerosis.