Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0848771 (neurological disability)
 928 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system in which axonal damage and degeneration contribute significantly to the progressive irreversible neurological disability. Similar to pathogenic myelin autoimmunity, autoimmune responses to neuronal antigens may contribute to axonal damage and irreversible disability in MS. Auto-antibodies to the axonal cytoskeletal protein neurofilament light (NF-L) are associated with cerebral atrophy in MS and we have recently reported that NF-L autoimmunity is pathogenic in mice. However, the T-cell response to NF-L in MS patients has not been examined. Here, we identify and characterize T-cell proliferative responses to NF-L as compared with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) in MS patients and healthy controls. Using a carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester dilution assay, we show that while responses to MOG are dominated by CD3(+)CD4(+) T cells, responses to NF-L were observed in both CD3(+)CD4(+) and CD3(+)CD8(+) T-cell populations. Both MOG- and NF-L-reactive cells expressed CD45RO(+), indicative of a memory phenotype. Moreover, in contrast to MOG stimulation which predominantly induced IFN-gamma, both T(h)1- and T(h)2-type T-cell responses to NF-L were observed as indicated by the induction of IFN-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha as well as IL-4. The finding of T-cell responses to NF-L in MS patients may reflect transient activation of pathogenic potential but their presence also in healthy controls indicates that these cells are part of the normal immune repertoire.
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PMID:T-cell responses to neurofilament light protein are part of the normal immune repertoire. 1924 89

The major intermediate cytoskeletal protein of astrocytes, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and that of axons, neurofilament light protein (NFL), may both be released into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during pathological processes in the central nervous system (CNS). We investigated GFAP and NFL levels in CSF as possible biomarkers for progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS, n = 15) or secondary progressive MS (SPMS, n = 10) and healthy control subjects (n = 28) were examined twice with an interval of 8-10 years apart. Neurological deficits were scored with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). GFAP and NFL levels were determined in CSF by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). GFAP levels and NFL levels correlated with age (r and r (s) = 0.50, p = 0.006). Adjusting for age, MS patients had increased GFAP levels compared with controls (p = 0.03) and GFAP levels correlated with neurological disability (EDSS, r = 0.51, p < 0.05) and disease progression [Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS), r = 0.47, p < 0.05]. The mean annual increase of GFAP was 6.5 ng/L for controls, 8.1 ng/L for RRMS patients, and 18.9 ng/L for SPMS patients. GFAP level at the first examination had predictive value for neurological disability 8-10 years later (EDSS, r = 0.45, p < 0.05) but not for EDSS increase between the examinations. NFL levels were not significantly increased in MS patients compared with controls and had no relationship to disability or progression and no prognostic value for disability development. GFAP, a marker for astrogliosis, is a potential biomarker for MS progression and may have a role in clinical trials for assessing the impact of therapies on MS progression.
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PMID:Glial fibrillary acidic protein: a potential biomarker for progression in multiple sclerosis. 2119 41