Bo Marco, Niegowska Magdalena, Frau Jessica, Sechi GianPietro, Arru Giannina, Cocco Eleonora, Sechi Leonardo A
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.
Microorganisms. 2020 Apr 1;8(4):500. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8040500.
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 subspecies (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 ( < 0.0001 for IL-2, = 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 ( = 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.
白细胞介素2（IL-2）被认为是加重多发性硬化症（MS）的关键因素。针对其受体的疗法已经开发出来；然而，疾病的缓解和副作用仍然是一个令人担忧的问题。最近有人提出，其他因素，如亚种（MAP）和源自人内源性逆转录病毒W型（HERV-Wenv）的包膜蛋白，也参与了MS的发病机制。在这里，我们调查了108例MS患者、34例视神经脊髓炎谱系障碍（NMOSD）患者和137名健康对照（HCs）体内针对IL-2和HERV-Wenv的抗体（Abs）水平。我们的结果显示，与HCs相比，MS患者体内针对IL-2和HERV-Wenv-su抗原的特异性Abs水平升高（IL-2为<0.0001，HERV-Wenv为=0.0004），而与MS患者相比，NMOSD患者体内的水平显著降低。对针对IL-2、HERV-Wenv和MAP脂阿拉伯甘露聚糖（LAM）的Abs进行的为期12个月的不同疗法评估显示，对抗LAM Abs的影响最强（=0.018），抗IL-2 Abs略有降低，抗HERV-Wenv Abs变化较小。这些结果突出了这样一个结论，即治疗的影响与所选表位的相关性比与治疗药物的相关性更大。筛查抗IL-2和抗HERV-Wenv Abs有可能作为未来区分症状相似的MS和NMOSD的额外实践。
