CSF p-tau205: a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease progression and biological staging

Abstract Among soluble tau biomarkers, tau phosphorylation at position T205 (p-tau205) has been suggested to distinctly emergence across Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continuum compared to other p-tau and non-phosphorylated tau forms, and a moderate relationship with both amyloid-β and tau aggregated pathologies. To evaluate this and further expand the characterization of this biomarker, we measured cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) p-tau205 using an in-house developed immunoassay in a total of 2069 samples from the BioFINDER-2 ( n = 1364) and BioFINDER-1 ( n = 705) cohorts. These two cohorts spanned the full AD continuum and were analyzed to assess cross-sectional and longitudinal associations with imaging and clinical measures. CSF p-tau205 levels were elevated in both biologically and clinically advanced disease stages. In Aβ-positive individuals, baseline p-tau205 levels correlated with Aβ-PET (R² = 0.28), tau-PET (medial temporal: R 2 = 0.35, neocortical: R² = 0.29), cortical atrophy (R² = 0.15) and cognition (MMSE, R² = 0.15). Baseline p-tau205 predicted subsequent Aβ accumulation (R² = 0.44) and tau-accumulation measured by PET (R² = 0.33). Longitudinal p-tau205 levels increased more steeply longitudinally in Aβ-positive than Aβ-negative participants (β[95%CI] = 0.16[0.12–0.21], p < 0.001). Longitudinal p-tau205 changes were associated with cortical thinning (R² = 0.32) and cognitive decline (R² ≥ 0.41). When incorporating Aβ42/40, p-tau217 and p-tau205 into a conceptual CSF-based staging model, the final p-tau205-positive stage showed the strongest association with cortical atrophy, cognitive impairment, and risk of progression to dementia (HR = 6.40[4.28–9.59]). These findings support CSF p-tau205 as a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease pathology and progression with potential value for biological staging.