Decreased interleukin-10 and increased interleukin-12p40 mRNA are associated with disease activity and characterize different disease stages in multiple sclerosis. |
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Authors: | A H van Boxel-Dezaire S C Hoff B W van Oosten C L Verweij A M Dr?ger H J Adèr J C van Houwelingen F Barkhof C H Polman L Nagelkerken |
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Institution: | TNO Prevention and Health, Division of Immunological and Infectious Diseases, Leiden, The Netherlands. |
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Abstract: | It has been shown that proinflammatory and antiinflammatory cytokines correlate with disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS). To establish whether such correlations depend on the disease stage, we assessed in a longitudinal fashion the expression of interleukin (IL)-12 (p40 and p35), tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, and IL-10 mRNA by competitive polymerase chain reaction in unstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells of relapsing-remitting (RR) and secondary progressive (SP) MS patients, in relation to monthly clinical and magnetic resonance imaging monitoring. MS patients had increased levels of IL-12p40 and decreased levels of IL-10 mRNA compared with controls; this difference was most pronounced in SP patients. Both RR and SP patients had increased levels of IL-12p40 mRNA compared with controls during the development of active lesions. Moreover, in RR MS an increase was found before relapse. IL-12p35 mRNA was decreased in both groups, and in relation to disease activity it showed a pattern different from IL-12p40 mRNA. In RR MS, IL-10 mRNA was low 4 weeks before magnetic resonance imaging activity and 6 weeks before relapse; a significant increase to normal levels was noted when active lesions became apparent. In contrast, SP patients showed low IL-10 mRNA levels constitutively, suggesting that IL-10 plays an important role in the control of disease progression. |
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