Gene Expression Patterns Identified Associated with Multiple Sclerosis

Gene expression patterns have been identified in white blood cells (WBCs) that are statistically associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Genomic analysis also identified gene patterns associated with two recently approved therapies for MS.

MS is a chronic inflammatory disease that selectively destroys the myelin sheaths of neurons within the CNS, leading to loss of neurological function with unpredictable course and severity. The disease affects approximately 350,000 persons in the United States alone, and more than 25,000 new diagnoses are confirmed each year. Susceptibility to MS is determined by genetic and environmental factors that are not well understood, requiring a battery of expensive and in many cases invasive tests to arrive at a diagnosis.

Gene Logic (Gaithersburg, MD, USA) scientists evaluated the WBC samples using gene expression microarrays that enable comprehensive analysis of the human genome. They compared untreated MS samples with non-MS samples (both non-diseased and from other autoimmune diseases), as well as MS samples before and after treatment with Avonex (beta-interferon) and Copaxone (glatiramer acetate). Statistically significant gene expression differences between the groups were determined to identify gene sets.

"These studies lay the foundation for several MS diagnostics that could have significant clinical applications,” said Larry Tiffany, senior vice president and general manager of Genomics at Gene Logic. "A blood-based test that can definitively diagnose MS would clearly be of high value to physicians. A ‘rule-out' test demonstrating that a patient does not have MS would also be clinically useful, since it eliminates a lengthy, costly and often invasive medical work-up in many patients with symptoms similar to MS. Other potential applications of our comprehensive approach could be tests to monitor disease activity, identify sub-types of MS, and functionally assess drug activity.”

Gene Logic is using blood samples from the repository of the Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis (ACP), a non-profit organization that has assembled the largest multi-disciplinary bio-bank for MS research.


Related Links:
Gene Logic
Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis