Pre-registration: IRF3 expression in rim microglia of chronic-active multiple sclerosis lesions (GSE284005, MERFISH)

Frozen pre-registration (15 Oct 2026) of a computational test on the public MERSCOPE MERFISH dataset GSE284005 (500-gene panel, 17 white-matter sections): whether IRF3 transcript share is at least 30% higher in microglia within 100 micrometres of the lesion boundary than in normal-appearing white-matter microglia more than 500 micrometres from demyelinated tissue (nine qualifying sections, t-interval on the mean log2 ratio against log2(1.3)). TBK1 is not on the panel, so this is a partial test and says nothing about STING activation. A separate labelled variant tests an interferon-response gene score. Files: PREREG.md (protocol, decision rule, controls, what was seen beforehand, pre-emption notes), decide.py (decision code with planted-effect table), analyse.py (analysis; the claim readouts are locked until the PREREG is frozen). Deposited BEFORE the claim readouts were run. Verdict vocabulary: Supported / Refuted / Inconclusive under protocol X.