Serum heat shock protein concentrations are not associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk or survival in three European populations

Introduction: Serum heat shock protein (HSP) concentrations have been reported as potential biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, we investigate the role of serum HSP70, HSP90, and DNAJC7 as biomarkers for ALS. Methods: Serum samples were collected from ALS patients and volunteer controls from three different clinical cohorts (in Germany, Ireland, and Italy). Serum HSP concentrations were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Descriptive statistics, generalized logistic regression, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to model associations between log serum HSP concentrations and ALS risk. Results: In total, 251 ALS patients and 184 healthy volunteers were included. Logistic regression models failed to find associations between ALS risk and log serum concentration of HSP70 (OR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.10–1.78, p = 0.242), HSP90 (OR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.39–2.37, p = 0.904), or DNAJC7 (OR 1.55, 95% CI: 0.90–2.68, p = 0.118). Survival of ALS patients was not associated with log serum concentration of HSP HSP70 (HR1.06, 95% CI: 0.36–3.14, p = 0.916), HSP90 (HR 1.17, 95% CI: 0.67–2.02, p = 0.584), or DNAJC7 (HR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.57–1.21, p = 0.337). Discussion: We did not replicate previous findings that serum HSP70 and HSP90 concentrations were associated with risk of ALS. DNAJC7 was not associated with ALS risk, and there were no obvious longitudinal patterns in log serum concentrations of HSP70, HSP90, or DNAJC7. In addition, serum HSP concentrations were not associated with ALS survival.