SERUM LEVELS OF SOLUBLE TWEAK ARE SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED DURING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.
- Sophie DESPLAT-JEGO, France
Abstract
Background and Aims
Background and aims: TWEAK (TNF weak inducer of apoptosis) is a cytokine member of the TNF ligand superfamily. We have been the first to show that TWEAK produced by infiltrating monocytes/macrophages contributed to neuroinflammation during multiple sclerosis (MS). Moreover, we have also recently suggested on a small cohort of patients that soluble TWEAK levels were elevated in MS and were associated with disease activity. Here, our aims were to determine soluble TWEAK levels in a larger cohort of MS and to compare TWEAK levels in i) MS patients versus controls and ii) relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) patients vs progressive MS patients.
Methods
Methods: Serum samples from 200 patients with MS and controls were collected, and soluble TWEAK levels were evaluated by using a commercially available ELISA kit. The data of the first 103 MS patients and 20 controls are presented here.
Results
Results: Serum soluble TWEAK levels were significantly higher in MS patients than in controls (1031+/-388pg/ml, vs 864+/-209 pg/ml, p=0.048). Although soluble TWEAK levels were higher in RRMS patients (1071+/-441pg/ml) than in progressive MS patients (972+/-267pg/ml), this did not reach statistical significance. In the RRMS patients’ group, soluble TWEAK did not correlate with EDSS disability score (R=0.03, p=0.76).
Conclusions
Conclusions: We confirm here in an independent cohort that serum levels of TWEAK are higher in MS patients than in controls. Moreover, soluble TWEAK levels tend to be lower in progressive MS than in RRMS. Further studies examining clinical and MRI parameters (notably gadolinium enhancement) in our whole cohort are in progress.