Nanoimmunosensor based on atomic force spectroscopy to detect anti-myelin basic protein related to early-stage multiple sclerosis

•Atomic force spectroscopy nanoimmunosensor detected anti-MBP in multiple sclerosis.•Anti-MBP was present in early-stage and absent in advanced-stage MS patients.•Nanoimmunosensor test had 96.68% of sensitivity and 68.48% of specificity.•The optimal point of accuracy resulted in a cut-off value of 201.4 pN.•Adhesion force values from simulations and experiments were similar. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder in the central nervous system for which biomarkers for diagnosis still remain unknown. One potential biomarker is the myelin basic protein. Here, a nanoimmunosensor based on atomic force spectroscopy (AFS) successfully detected autoantibodies against the MBP85-99 peptide from myelin basic protein. The nanoimmunosensor consisted of an atomic force microscope tip functionalization with MBP85-99 peptide, which was made to interact with a mica surface coated either with a layer of anti-MBP85-99 (positive control) or samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from five multiple sclerosis (MS) patients at different stages of the disease and five non-MS subjects. The adhesion forces obtained from AFS pointed to a high concentration of anti-MBP85-99 for the two patients at early stages of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), which were indistinguishable from the positive control. In contrast, considerably lower adhesion forces were measured for all the other eight subjects, including three MS patients with longer history of the disease and under treatment, without episodes of acute MS activity. We have also shown that the average adhesion force between MBP85-99 and anti-MBP85-99 is compatible with the value estimated using steered molecular dynamics. Though further tests will be required with a larger cohort of patients, the present results indicate that the nanoimmunosensor may be a simple tool to detect early-stage MS patients and be useful to understand the molecular mechanisms behind MS.