The Role of Neuroinflammation in Neurological Disease
Neuroinflammation is implicated in many neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS, and traumatic brain injury. Interactions among astrocytes, microglia, neurons, and peripheral immune pathways can influence disease progression, therapeutic response, and long-term outcomes.
Because neuroinflammatory responses can vary across patients and stages of disease, sensitive biomarker measurements are increasingly important for research. Ultra-sensitive biomarkers help researchers characterize neuroimmune activity, monitor changes over time, and better understand the relationship between inflammation and neurodegeneration.
Key Research Questions Addressable by Simoa®
Characterize biological heterogeneity across patient populations to support stratification, cohort enrichment, and precision medicine approaches.
Investigate the relationship between neuroimmune activity and disease evolution across neurodegenerative, neuroinflammatory, and acute neurological disorders.
Track dynamic changes in inflammatory biology throughout disease progression, recovery, or therapeutic intervention.
Evaluate neuroinflammatory pathways as indicators of prognosis, disease activity, and response to emerging therapies.
Examine relationships between immune activation, neuronal injury, and long-term disease outcomes to develop a more comprehensive understanding of disease biology.
Applications
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Investigate inflammatory activity, glial responses, and mechanisms associated with disease progression and therapeutic response.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Characterize acute inflammatory responses and biological processes associated with long-term outcomes.
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Explore relationships between neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline.
Parkinson’s Disease (PD)
Study interactions between inflammatory pathways, protein aggregation, and neuronal dysfunction.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Examine neuroimmune processes linked to motor neuron injury and disease progression.
Track the Neuroinflammatory Cascade
Characterize neuroinflammation from immune activation to downstream neuronal injury with complementary biomarkers that capture distinct stages of the neuroimmune response.
❶ Inflammatory Signaling
IL-18 is an inflammasome-associated cytokine that serves as an upstream marker of inflammatory pathway activation, to provide insight into the inflammatory processes driving disease activity and progression.
❷ Microglial Activation
Microglia activation contributes to the CNS neuroinflammatory response. Soluble TREM2 (sTREM2) can provide insight into microglial activation and innate immune activity during disease progression.
❸ Astrocytic Activation & Chronic Inflammation
YKL-40 reveals functional astrocyte activation during inflammation and tissue remodeling. Rising YKL-40 levels have been associated with tau pathology, vascular inflammation, and progressive cognitive decline, and may serve as an early warning sign of sustained neuroimmune activity before neuronal damage and degeneration.
❹ Astrocyte Response & Tissue Injury
GFAP is a marker or astrocyte activation and glial pathology, linking neuroinflammatory responses to tissue-level CNS injury and disease progression.
❺ Neuroaxonal Injury
Neurology 2-Plex B (NfL + GFAP) Advantage PLUS
Combining measures of astrocyte activation (GFAP) and neuroaxonal injury (NfL) enables researchers to connect inflammatory processes with downstream neuronal damage.
Featured Resources
Explore recent research and expert perspectives on the role of neuroinflammation across neurological disease.
Synaptic Dysfunction and Neuroinflammation: Complementary Pathways Driving Cognitive Decline
Learn how neuroinflammatory processes and synaptic dysfunction interact to influence cognitive decline across neurodegenerative diseases, and why measuring both pathways may provide a more comprehensive understanding of disease biology.
YKL-40 Emerges as a Key Indicator of Neuroinflammatory-Driven Tau Pathology and Brain Atrophy in Alzheimer’s Disease
Explore emerging evidence linking YKL-40 to neuroinflammation, tau pathology, and neurodegeneration, highlighting its potential value for studying disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease.
The Relationship of Soluble TREM2 to Other Biomarkers of Sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease
Review research examining how sTREM2 relates to established Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers and what these findings reveal about microglial activation and disease progression.
Simoa Accelerator Laboratory Services
Learn how the Simoa® Accelerator provides end-to-end support for liquid biomarker programs.
Accelerate Your Neuroinflammation Research
Connect with a Quanterix expert to identify the biomarkers, assays, and research strategies best suited for your neurological disease area and study objectives.