Utility of Myelin Basic Protein as an Early Prognostic Biomarker in Multiple Sclerosis

Background Myelin basic protein (MBP), a crucial neuro-autoantigen involved in the maintenance of the myelin sheath, is one of the biomarkers of therapeutic response in multiple sclerosis (MS). Objectives The study examines prognostic biomarker and molecular mimicry hypothesis MS etiology by MBP. Methods This study is convergence of three arms including in silico and in vitro (bioinformatics) with the in vivo (experimental). A novel methodology combining molecular techniques was used to confirm the antigenic properties of MBP and study its efficiency in increasing the susceptibility to MS. One hundred eighty MS patients and healthy subjects were recruited for the study from Jan 2013 to Feb 2016 in Iran. Age and sex-matched healthy volunteers and patients were analyzed using various quantitative and qualitative molecular laboratory techniques. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma was used for the retrieval of MBP and IgG assay, respectively. Results The optimum concentration of the MBP epitope for the immune system to react and facilitate prognostication was found to be 50 and 150 µg/mL in MS patients and healthy individuals, respectively (P < 0.0001****). Combined results from ELISA and real-time PCR showed that the total IgG and the ratio of gene expression for candidate human MBP epitope was higher in MS patients in all the three groups compared to that in healthy controls P < 0.0001****). Conclusions Molecular assays in the early stages of the disease could help in elucidating the effectiveness of the MBP as a prognostic factor in MS.