Growth Factors and Their Roles in Multiple Sclerosis Risk

Mendelian Randomization Analysis of Circulating Cytokines and Risk of Autoimmune Neuroinflammatory Diseases

Background

Cytokines act a vital role in autoimmune neuroinflammatory diseases (ANDs) with undetermined causal relationships. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed to estimate the causal effects of circulating levels of cytokines on the risk of ANDs.

Methods

The causal relationship between 34 circulating cytokines and 4 kinds of ANDs, including multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NOM), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and myasthenia gravis (MG) were explored using four methods of MR analysis. MR-PRESSO, MR-Egger regression methods and Cochran's Q statistic were utilized to identify the instrumental variables (IVs) with potential pleiotropy and heterogeneity. The Bonferroni correction was used for multiple group comparisons. P-value less than 3.68E-04 (0.05/ (34*4)) was considered statistically significant.

Results

Negative causal effects of circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-8 (OR = 0.648, 95% CI: 0.494-0.851, P = 0.002) on risk of MS, chemokine (C-C Motif) ligand (CCL)-5 (OR = 0.295, 95% CI: 0.103-0.841, P = 0.022) and stem cell growth factor-beta (SCGF-β) (OR = 0.745, 95% CI: 0.565-0.984, P = 0.038) on risk of CIDP, as well as positive causal effects of circulating levels of IL-2 receptor α (IL-2Rα) (OR = 1.216, 95% CI: 1.120-1.320, P = 3.20E-06) and chemokine C-X-C motif ligand (CXCL)-10 (OR = 1.404, 95% CI: 1.094-1.803, P = 0.008) on MS were observed. Nevertheless, only IL-2Rα still had a causal effect on MS after Bonferroni correction.

Conclusion

The results identify a genetically predicted causal effect of IL-2Rα, IL-8 and CXCL-10 on MS, CCL-5 and SCGF-β on CIDP.

Blood-based inflammatory protein biomarker panel for the prediction of relapse and severity in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

To date, most existing models for predicting neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are based primarily on clinical characteristics. Blood-based NMOSD severity and prognostic predictive immune- and inflammation-related biomarkers are needed. We aimed to investigate the associations between plasma inflammatory biomarkers and relapse and attack severity in NMOSD.

METHODS

This two-step, single-center prospective cohort study included discovery and validation cohorts. We quantified 92 plasma inflammatory proteins by using Olink's proximity extension assay and identified differentially expressed proteins in the relapse group (relapse within 1 year of follow-up) and severe attack group. To define a new molecular prognostic model, we calculated the risk score of each patient based on the key protein signatures and validated the results in the validation cohort.

RESULTS

The relapse prediction model, including FGF-23, DNER, GDNF, and SLAMF1, predicted the 1-year relapse risk. The severe attack prediction model, including PD-L1 and MCP-2, predicted the severe clinical attack risk. Both the relapse and severe attack prediction models demonstrated good discriminative ability and high accuracy in the validation cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

Our discovered biomarker signature and prediction models may complement current clinical risk stratification approaches. These inflammatory biomarkers could contribute to the discovery of therapeutic interventions and prevent NMOSD progression.

A 4D transcriptomic map for the evolution of multiple sclerosis-like lesions in the marmoset brain

Single-time-point histopathological studies on postmortem multiple sclerosis (MS) tissue fail to capture lesion evolution dynamics, posing challenges for therapy development targeting development and repair of focal inflammatory demyelination. To close this gap, we studied experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) in the common marmoset, the most faithful animal model of these processes. Using MRI-informed RNA profiling, we analyzed ~600,000 single-nucleus and ~55,000 spatial transcriptomes, comparing them against EAE inoculation status, longitudinal radiological signals, and histopathological features. We categorized 5 groups of microenvironments pertinent to neural function, immune and glial responses, tissue destruction and repair, and regulatory network at brain borders. Exploring perilesional microenvironment diversity, we uncovered central roles of EAE-associated astrocytes, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, and ependyma in lesion formation and resolution. We pinpointed imaging and molecular features capturing the pathological trajectory of WM, offering potential for assessing treatment outcomes using marmoset as a platform.

A systematic review of Mendelian randomization studies on multiple sclerosis

Mendelian randomization (MR) is a powerful approach for assessing the causal effect of putative risk factors on an outcome, using genetic variants as instrumental variables. The methodology and application developed in the framework of MR have been dramatically improved, taking advantage of the many public genome-wide association study (GWAS) data. The availability of summary-level data allowed to perform numerous MR studies especially for complex diseases, pinpointing modifiable exposures causally related to increased or decreased disease risk. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex multifactorial disease whose aetiology involves both genetic and non-genetic risk factors and their interplay. Previous observational studies have revealed associations between candidate modifiable exposures and MS risk; although being prone to confounding, and reverse causation, these studies were unable to draw causal conclusions. MR analysis addresses the limitations of observational studies and allows to establish reliable and accurate causal conclusions. Here, we systematically reviewed the studies evaluating the causal effect, through MR, of genetic and non-genetic exposures on MS risk. Among 107 papers found, only 42 were eligible for final evaluation and qualitative synthesis. We found that, above all, low vitamin D levels and high adult body mass index (BMI) appear to be uncontested risk factors for increased MS risk.

Stimulating factors for regulation of osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), distributed in many tissues in the human body, are multipotent cells capable of differentiating in specific directions. It is usually considered that the differentiation process of MSCs depends on specialized external stimulating factors, including cell signaling pathways, cytokines, and other physical stimuli. Recent findings have revealed other underrated roles in the differentiation process of MSCs, such as material morphology and exosomes. Although relevant achievements have substantially advanced the applicability of MSCs, some of these regulatory mechanisms still need to be better understood. Moreover, limitations such as long-term survival in vivo hinder the clinical application of MSCs therapy. This review article summarizes current knowledge regarding the differentiation patterns of MSCs under specific stimulating factors.

Angiogenesis and Multiple Sclerosis Pathogenesis: A Glance at New Pharmaceutical Approaches

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system characterized by demyelination and destruction of axons. The most common form of the disease is the relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in which episodic attacks with typical neurological symptoms are followed by episodes of partial or complete recovery. One of the underestimated factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis is excessive angiogenesis. Here, we review the role of angiogenesis in the onset and in the development of the disease, the molecular mechanisms underlying angiogenesis, the current therapeutic approaches, and the potential therapeutic strategies with a look at natural compounds as multi-target drugs with both neuroprotective and anti-angiogenic properties.