Multiple sclerosis is diagnosed by antibodies

Siberian scientists have found a simple method for diagnosing multiple sclerosis

RIA NewsRussian scientists have discovered a simple and effective method for diagnosing multiple sclerosis, a disease for which there has not yet been a sufficiently reliable and affordable diagnostic method, according to an article published in the journal Analytical Chemistry by a group of scientists from the Institute of Biophysics SB RAS, Siberian Federal University and the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS (Vorobjeva et al., RNA Aptamer against Autoantibodies Associated with Multiple Sclerosis and Bioluminescent Detection Probe on Its Basis – VM).

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord are affected. In those suffering from this disease, their own immune system destroys myelin, the insulating sheath of nerves. Without myelin, the nerves conduct the signal worse, which leads to impaired motor activity, loss of speech, vision, and disruption of the brain. To date, the disease is considered incurable.

Until now, a reliable diagnosis of multiple sclerosis required a whole range of different types of studies, in particular, magnetic resonance imaging and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. At the same time, each of them was not one hundred percent reliable, and all together they are very expensive and take a lot of time.

A group led by Lyudmila Frank from the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Biophysics drew attention to the fact that autoimmune antibodies appear in the body of patients with multiple sclerosis, in particular, antibodies to myelin-associated proteins. "The presence of such antibodies is now considered as a characteristic sign of multiple sclerosis," the scientists write.

They synthesized specially designed RNA molecules (aptamers), to which molecules of the luminous protein obelin were attached. When such a molecule meets with a typical antibody for sclerosis, the glowing protein is activated and emits a quantum of light and it remains only to fix it. Scientists note that their proposed method is quite simple and highly sensitive. At the same time, before being used in the clinic, it must undergo numerous checks.

Figure from an article in Analytical Chemistry – VM

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