Data from: Serum proteome characterizes sequence of CNS injury in pre-symptomatic multiple sclerosis
Data files
Oct 20, 2025 version files 154.33 MB
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dodsr.ms.proteomics.csv
154.32 MB
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README.md
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Abstract
The timing of the biological onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) is unclear. We utilized high-throughput discovery proteomics and samples from pre-symptomatic individuals with MS (pwMS) and matched healthy controls (HC) to define the biological neurological onset and characterize involved mechanisms. Remarkably, myelin injury was seen 7-8 years before the symptomatic onset and preceded evidence of axonal injury by 1-2 years. By contrast, astrocyte involvement became evident only at clinical onset. Numerous changes in the serum proteome indicate the involvement of interleukin 3 and nuclear factor kappa B pathways during the pre-symptomatic stage. A protein biomarker panel identified pre-symptomatic pwMS from HC with 95% sensitivity. Additionally, pwMS with a distinct autoantibody signature showed increased immune cell activity compared to those without. Our findings can help decipher the pathophysiology of MS as well as the cascade of CNS injury and facilitate early detection of MS in high-risk individuals.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fttdz093t
Description of the data and file structure
Proteomic data were generated from serum collected from selected participants of the Department of Defense Serum Repository. Participants included people who developed multiple sclerosis and matched healthy controls. Data generated on the Olink platform using the Olink Explore HT kit. For an in-depth description of the participant selection and data processing, see the related manuscript.
Files and variables
File: dodsr.ms.proteomics.csv
Description: .csv file containing basic demographics and clinical data, as well as Olink measurements from all included participants from the Department of Defense Serum Repository
Variables
- StudyID: anonymized participant ID
- timepoint: time point in relation to symptomatic multiple sclerosis onset, either "pre" or "post" indicating before or after the symptomatic onset of the disease, respectively
- sample_year: sample collection year
- ms_vs_hc: diagnosis assigned into multiple sclerosis "ms" or healthy controls "hc"
- time_to_onset: time between sample collection and symptomatic multiple sclerosis onset in years. Negative values indicate sample collection before symptomatic disease onset.
- sex: biological sex, either male "M", or female "F"
- assay: Olink assay name
- age_sample: age of participant at the time of sample collection
- npx: Normalized Protein eXpression
- immunecluster: Presense "yes" or abscence "no" of autoantibody sigature
- assay_qc: Assay performance quality control, values are either "PASS" or "WARN"
- sample_qc: Sample performance quality control, values are either "PASS" or "WARN"
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- NA
Data was derived from the following sources:
- NA
Human subjects data
All participant IDs, datasets, and samples were fully anonymized by the Department of Defense Serum Repository (DODSR) staff prior to being provided for this research. As a result, the dataset received and subsequently uploaded contains no personally identifiable information (PII).
This study was reviewed and approved by both the Office of Human Research Oversight (OHRO), U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Institutional Review Board (IRB).