Plasma lipidome dysregulation in frontotemporal dementia reveals shared, genotype-specific, and severity-linked alterations.

INTRODUCTION

Biomarkers are essential for monitoring the progression of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Although dysregulated brain lipid metabolism, particularly sphingolipids enriched in the nervous system, is a key feature of neurodegeneration, plasma lipids remain underexplored as biomarkers compared to imaging and serum proteins.

METHODS

We examined plasma lipidomes using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) from individuals carrying pathogenic variants linked to autosomal dominant FTD (GRN, C9orf72, MAPT) and non-carriers.

RESULTS

FTD subjects exhibited increased plasma levels of gangliosides (GM3(d18:1_16:0), GM3(d18:1_24:1)), ceramide Cer(d18:1_23:0), and select polyunsaturated triacylglycerols. In contrast, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE(18:0_24:0) and sphingomyelin (SM(38:0) were reduced. Subtype-specific changes included elevated glucosylsphingosine (GlcSph(d18:1) in GRN carriers, reduced SM(34:1) in C9orf72, and decreased TG(16:0_18:1_20:3) in MAPT carriers. GM3(d18:1_16:0) was consistently elevated across all subtypes. Furthermore, the levels of these lipids correlated with disease severity.

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggest that specific plasma lipid changes, notably several sphingolipids, may be useful biomarkers for FTD disease or progression.

HIGHLIGHTS

Plasma lipidomics reveals both shared and mutation-specific lipid alterations in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Glucosylsphingosine is specifically elevated in FTD caused by GRN mutations and correlates with disease severity. The ganglioside GM3(d18:1_16:0) is consistently elevated across GRN, MAPT, and C9orf72 variants and correlates with disease severity. Plasma sphingolipids emerge as promising biomarkers for FTD diagnosis, subtype differentiation, and disease monitoring.