High-mobility group box 1 as a predictive biomarker for drug-resistant epilepsy: a proof-of-concept study

Walker, L. E., Sills, G. J., Jorgensen, A., Alapirtti, T., Peltola, J., Brodie, M. J., Marson, A. G., Vezzani, A. and Pirmohamed, M. (2022) High-mobility group box 1 as a predictive biomarker for drug-resistant epilepsy: a proof-of-concept study. Epilepsia, 63(1), e1-e6. (doi: 10.1111/epi.17116) (PMID:34747496)

Abstract

Currently no sensitive and specific biomarkers exist to predict drug-resistant epilepsy. We determined whether blood levels of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a mediator of neuroinflammation implicated in drug-resistant epilepsies, identifies patients with drug-resistant seizures. Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy express significantly higher levels of blood HMGB1 than those with drug-responsive, well-controlled seizures and healthy controls. No correlation existed between blood HMGB1 levels and total pretreatment seizure count or days since last seizure at new epilepsy diagnosis, indicating that blood HMGB1 does not solely reflect ongoing seizures. HMGB1 distinguishes with high specificity and selectivity drug-resistant versus drug-responsive patients. This protein therefore has potential clinical utility to act as a biomarker for predicting response to therapy, which should be addressed in prospective clinical studies.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This study was supported by the Medical Research Council (to L.E.W.; grant number G1000417); and FIRE-AICE, Fondazione Monzino, Era-Net Neuron 2019 (Ebio2; A.V.). M.P. is a National Institute for Health Research Senior Investigator.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Brodie, Professor Martin and Sills, Dr Graeme
• Authors: Walker, L. E., Sills, G. J., Jorgensen, A., Alapirtti, T., Peltola, J., Brodie, M. J., Marson, A. G., Vezzani, A., and Pirmohamed, M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Life Sciences; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: Epilepsia
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 0013-9580
• ISSN (Online): 1528-1167
• Published Online: 08 November 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 International League Against Epilepsy
• First Published: First published in Epilepsia 63(1): e1-e6
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy