MS is a chronic, immune-mediated disease involving inflammation, demyelination, and neuroaxonal injury within the central nervous system (CNS). While relapses and MRI findings remain important measures of disease activity, they do not fully capture the biological processes driving tissue damage and disability progression. As researchers work to better understand both relapsing and progressive forms of MS, blood- and CSF-based biomarkers are measured to quantify inflammation, glial activation, and neuroaxonal injury throughout the disease course.
Multiple sclerosis is driven by interconnected inflammatory, glial, and neurodegenerative processes. While individual biomarkers can provide insight into specific aspects of disease biology, evaluating complementary biomarkers can help researchers better understand how immune activity, tissue injury, and disease progression interact over time. The Simoa assay portfolio provides biomarker solutions to investigate multiple dimensions of MS biology within a single research workflow.
Nf-L is one of the most extensively studied biomarkers in MS and is widely used to quantify neuroaxonal injury. Elevated Nf-L concentrations have been associated with relapse activity, MRI lesion formation, and disability worsening.
The Neurology 2-Plex B combines Nf-L and GFAP, enabling simultaneous assessment of neuroaxonal injury and astrocytic activation from a single sample.
Available Simoa assays:
Neurology 2-Plex B (NfL + GFAP) Advantage PLUS
Astrocytes play key roles in inflammation, tissue repair, and glial scar formation throughout the course of MS. GFAP has emerged as a marker of astrocytic activation and chronic CNS injury and has been associated with progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) and disability accumulation.
When evaluated alongside markers of immune activation and neuroaxonal injury, GFAP can help characterize biological pathways associated with progression and chronic disease activity.
Available Simoa assays:
Neuroinflammation is a central feature of MS and contributes to both acute disease activity and long-term neurological damage. IL-18 reflects immune activation and inflammatory signaling, while YKL-40 and sTREM2 provide insight into glial responses associated with chronic disease activity.
Together, these biomarkers support investigation of inflammatory processes linked to disease progression and treatment response.
Available Simoa assays:
Monitor Neuroaxonal Injury
Explore how NfL is being used to assess CNS injury, disease activity, and disability progression across multiple sclerosis research settings.
Featured Case Study: Guidance for the Use of Neurofilament Light Chain in Multiple Sclerosis Management
Support Longitudinal Disease Monitoring
Learn how biomarkers can be used to monitor disease activity, treatment response, and progression across relapsing and progressive forms of MS.
Featured Blog:
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Expand Your Biomarker Strategy
Discover how researchers are using NfL GFAP together to investigate inflammation, glial activation, neuroaxonal injury, and disease progression.
Featured Publication Brief:
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Measure Multiple Dimensions of MS Biology
Discover how simultaneous measurement of NfL and GFAP can provide a broader view of neuroaxonal injury and astrocyte activation.
Featured Product Flyer: Neurology 2-Plex B
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Advance Therapeutic Research
Discover how researchers are combining biomarkers of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration to better understand treatment response and disease biology.
Featured Webinar: Monitoring Inflammation and Neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis with Simoa
Connect with a Quanterix expert to identify the biomarkers, assays, and research strategies best suited for your neurological disease area and study objectives.
