Assessing the commutability of reference material formats for the harmonization of amyloid-β measurements

Background: The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-β (Aβ42) peptide is an important biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Variability in measured Aβ42 concentrations at different laboratories may be overcome by standardization and establishing traceability to a reference system. Candidate certified reference materials (CRMs) are validated herein for this purpose. Methods: Commutability of 16 candidate CRM formats was assessed across five CSF Aβ42 immunoassays and one mass spectrometry (MS) method in a set of 48 individual clinical CSF samples. Promising candidate CRM formats (neat CSF and CSF spiked with Aβ42) were identified and subjected to validation across eight (Elecsys, EUROIMMUN, IBL, INNO-BIA AlzBio3, INNOTEST, MSD, Simoa, and Saladax) immunoassays and the MS method in 32 individual CSF samples. Commutability was evaluated by Passing-Bablok regression and the candidate CRM termed commutable when found within the prediction interval (PI). The relative distance to the regression line was assessed. Results: The neat CSF candidate CRM format was commutable for almost all method comparisons, except for the Simoa/MSD, Simoa/MS and MS/IBL where it was found just outside the 95% PI. However, the neat CSF was found within 5% relative distance to the regression line for MS/IBL, between 5% and 10% for Simoa/MS and between 10% and 15% for Simoa/MSD comparisons. Conclusions: The neat CSF candidate CRM format was commutable for 33 of 36 method comparisons, only one comparison more than expected given the 95% PI acceptance limit. We conclude that the neat CSF candidate CRM can be used for value assignment of the kit calibrators for the different Aβ42 methods.