Multi-Omic characterization of the effects of Ocrelizumab in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

The study examined changes in the plasma proteome, metabolome, and lipidome of N = 14 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) initiating treatment with ocrelizumab, assayed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Analyses of >4000 circulating biomarkers identified depletion of B-cell associated proteins as the early effect observed following ocrelizumab (OCR) initiation, accompanied by the reduction in plasma abundance of cytokines and cytotoxic proteins, markers of neuronaxonal damage, and biologically active lipids including ceramides and lysophospholipids, at 6 months. B-cell depletion was accompanied by decreases in B-cell receptor and cytokine signaling but a pronounced increase in circulating plasma B-cell activating factor (BAFF). This was followed by an upregulation of a number of signaling and metabolic pathways at 12 months. Patients with higher baseline brain MRI lesion load demonstrated both higher levels of cytotoxic and structural proteins in plasma at baseline and more pronounced biomarker change trajectories over time. Digital cytometry identified a putative increase in myeloid cells and a pro-inflammatory subset of T-cells. Therapeutic effects of ocrelizumab extend beyond CD20-mediated B-cell lysis and implicate metabolic reprogramming, juxtaposing the early normalization of immune activation, cytokine signaling and metabolite and lipid turnover in periphery with changes in the dynamics of immune cell activation or composition. We identify BAFF increase following CD20 depletion as a tentative compensatory mechanism that contributes to the reconstitution of targeted B-cells, necessitating further research.