Study of some plasma biomarkers acting in the proinflammatory process in the clinical forms of multiple sclerosis patients

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS), although its etiology is not well known, is a chronic, inflammatory and demyelinating disease of central nervous system (CNS),whichusually begins in young adults and proceeds with the defects of recurrent neurological functions. In the pathophysiology of MS, chemokines and cytokines have an important role during inflammation. Tissue injury in MS is the result of chemotactic interaction in which leukocyte subsets transferring specifically to blood brain barrier controlled by chemokines and cytokines play a significant role. It hasbeen reported that CCL2 (monocyte chemoattractant protein 1)increases along with leukocyte infiltration in MS lesions. In a study carried out earlier, it has been shown that the relative risk of MS increases among those patients who have CCL7 (monocyte chemoattractant protein 3) genetic polymorphism. IL2(interleukin 2) participates in the inflammatory cascade, immunoglobulin synthesis, andthe process of angiogenesis by stimulating lymphokine oscillation. In our study, we investigated the likely effects of plasma biomarkers, such as IL2, CCL2, and CCL7, which might be playing a role in the proinflammatory of MS, onclinical form of RRMS (relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis). Material and Methods: Into our study, 45 patients and 45 healthy controls,who had been diagnosed as clinically definite MS according to 2010McDonald criteria,and followed up in Education and Research Hospital,Faculty of Medicine,Dicle University, were included. Blood sample was taken once from those patients who were diagnosed as RRMS and in remission and from the healthy control group. The levels of CCL2, CCL7, and IL 2 measured in the patientswith RRMS and in remission and those of the healthy control group were compared.The studied parameters were also compared with each otherin terms of patient's age, gender, period of disease and frequence of attack, EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale), laboratory tests, applied treatment, and MRI(magnetic resonance imaging) lesion load. Results: The level of CCL2 in those patients who were in RRMS remission period was low in comparision tothatin the healthy control group,which was evaluated as a significant difference (p=0,02). Between the patient group and healthy group,statistically,any significant difference was notdeterminedat the levels of CCL 7 and IL2 serum (p>0,05). In the comparison performed in terms of therapeutic agents, any statistically significant difference was not found for the levels of CCL2 (p=0,523), CCL7 (p=0,871) and IL2 (p=0,479) betweenthe patients. Also, any significantdifference was not determinedfor the extension at VEP (visuel evoked-potential), OKB (oligoclonal band) positiveness, and for the levels of CCL2, CCL7, and IL2 in terms of treatments received by patients (p>0,05). In the correlations performed, no statistically significant relationship existed between MRG lesion counts and attack cyclic (p>0.05). In MS group, however, there was a strong positive relationship between CCL2, CCL7, and IL2, and a statistically significant correlation (p<0,001 r=0,809). Conclusion: Our study supports the conclusion that, in the RRMS remission period, the inflammmatory process is accompanied by CCL2, CCL7, and IL2.Furthermore, in our study, there was a strong correlation between the levels of CCL2, CCL7, and IL2 in patients group.