Neurofilament Light Chain as a Biomarker in Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Structure of Neurofilament proteins: light (NF-L), medium (NF-M), and heavy (NF-H) which belongs to Type IV intermediate filament family (IF), are neuron-specific cytoskeletal components, they are axonal structural components and integral components of synapses, which are important for neuronal electric signal transmissions along the axons . Due to the heterogeneity of MS, with a big variation in disease activity and prognosis, and with an increasing number of medications with different mechanisms of action, it would be a great advantage to have biomarkers that could facilitate disease activity assessments and individualized treatment.Neurofilament light chain levels in serum/plasma has shown consistent promise in MS, and unlike cytokines and chemokines biomarkers, the only source of NFL is neurons.As regards MS diagnosis and NfL, without considering any additional clinical context, sNfL alone is insufficient for a diagnosis of MS or for differentiating it from other neuroinflammatory disorders with neuroaxonal damage and elevated sNfL levels