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Native and transformed α 2 ‐macroglobulin in plasma from patients with multiple sclerosis
Author(s) -
Gunnarsson M.,
Sundström P.,
Stigbrand T.,
Jensen P. E. H.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0404.2003.00079.x
Subject(s) - multiple sclerosis , radial immunodiffusion , immunology , macroglobulin , myelin , medicine , disease , etiology , monoclonal antibody , chemistry , endocrinology , antibody , central nervous system
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease with unknown etiology. Various proteinases have been observed in increased levels in the central nervous system of patients with MS, which may contribute to the release of immunogenic myelin components. α 2 ‐Macroglobulin ( α 2 M) inhibits a broad spectrum of proteinases sterically, undergoing major conformational changes induced by the proteinases themselves. Moreover, α 2 M acts as a carrier of several cytokines in the systemic circulation. By use of radial immunodiffusion, we determined the total α 2 M levels in plasma from 28 MS patients and 15 control subjects [14 patients with other neurologic diseases (OND) and one healthy individual]. No significant differences in total α 2 M concentration were observed between the MS patients and the control subjects. A comparison of the degree of α 2 M transformation in MS patients with different disease courses and controls was performed, using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for binding to native and transformed α 2 M, respectively. The fractions of transformed α 2 M were significantly increased in patients with secondary or primary progressive disease course compared with the controls. No significant differences were obtained using a native‐specific mAb. At least a major proportion of α 2 M from the MS patients was able to change conformation from its native to its transformed state, as demonstrated by a shift in mAb reactivity, following methylamine treatment of the plasma samples. In conclusion, the results indicate that plasma α 2 M may be inactivated at a higher degree in patients with chronic progressive MS compared with patients with OND. This may influence the levels of proteinases and cytokines in the systemic circulation and may furthermore have diagnostic implications.