IL-2 and Mycobacterial Lipoarabinomannan as Targets of Immune Responses in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Microorganisms

Giannina Arru¹  GianPietro Sechi¹  Magdalena Niegowska²  Marco Bo²  LeonardoA. Sechi²  Eleonora Cocco³  Jessica Frau³ 

[1] Clinic of Neurology, Department of Clinical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy;Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Virology, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy;Multiple Sclerosis Center, Binaghi Hospital, ATS Sardegna, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09126 Cagliari, Italy;

关键词: interleukin 2;    IL-2;    multiple sclerosis;    antibodies;    autoimmune response;    Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/microorganisms8040500

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Interleukin 2 (IL-2) is considered a key player in exacerbating multiple sclerosis (MS). Therapies targeting its receptor have been developed; however, a resolution of the disease and side effects are still an issue of concern. The involvement of other factors, such as Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) and envelope protein derived from human endogenous retrovirus type W (HERV-Wenv), in MS pathogenesis has been recently suggested. Here, we investigated the levels of antibodies (Abs) directed against IL-2 and HERV-Wenv in 108 MS patients, 34 patients affected by neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and 137 healthy controls (HCs). Our results show increased levels of Abs specific to IL-2 and HERV-Wenv-su antigens in MS vs. HCs (p < 0.0001 for IL-2, p = 0.0004 for HERV-Wenv) and significantly decreased levels in NMOSD vs. MS. The assessment of different 12-month-long therapies on Abs against IL-2, HERV-Wenv, and MAP lipoarabinomannan (LAM) demonstrated the strongest effect on anti-LAM Abs (p = 0.018), a slight reduction of anti-IL-2 Abs, and small variations for anti-HERV-Wenv Abs. These results highlight the conclusion that the impact of therapy is more correlated with selected epitopes than with the therapeutic agent. Screening for anti-IL-2 and anti-HERV-Wenv Abs has a potential as additional future practice to distinguish between symptomatically similar MS and NMOSD.

【 授权许可】

Unknown