A comparison of the glycoproteins and the proteins from multiple sclerosis and normal brain tissue.

Two highly sensitive techniques were used to identify glycoproteins and proteins in several tissue fractions from two normal brains and five brains from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Comparison of glycoproteins and proteins in white and gray matter, myelin and a myelin-related fraction between normal and MS brains not only showed the presence in all fractions of many more minor components than has previously been reported, but also subtle differences in some of these components. However, no change was unequivocally MS-specific. This provides additional evidence that MS is a demyelinating rather than a dysmyelinating disorder and may lead to some insight into the etiology and/or progression of this disease. Moreover, this study has served to characterize further the proteins and glycoproteins of human brain tissue.