Pubmed

Elevated ATG5 expression in autoimmune demyelination and multiple sclerosis

The role of genes in the pathogenesis of MS is complex. The authors found an association between a gene called Atg5 and MS, suggesting that it may contribute to inflammation in MS.

authors: Alirezaei M, Fox HS, Flynn CT, Moore CS, Hebb AL, Frausto RF, Bhan V, Kiosses WB, Whitton JL, Robertson GS, Crocker SJ

source: Autophagy. 2009 Feb 5;5(2).

Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) disorder characterized by T cell-mediated demyelination. In MS, prolonged T cell survival and increased T cell proliferation have been linked to disease relapse and progression.

Recently, the autophagy-related gene 5 (Atg5) has been shown to modulate T cell survival. In this study, we examined the expression of Atg5 using both a mouse model of autoimmune demyelination as well as blood and brain tissues from MS cases.