David Berg
11-22-2001, 08:33 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Scientists have discovered a gene that may be involved in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases that destroy the protective covering of the brain and spinal cord.
The findings suggest that blocking the activity of the gene may slow the progress of MS, researchers say.
Multiple sclerosis and many other types of neurological diseases slowly destroy myelin, the thin, protective coating that insulates nerve fibers in the brain and spine. The destruction of myelin can lead to numbness, muscle weakness and stiffness, impaired vision and coordination problems.
Dr. Lawrence Steinman of Stanford University in California and colleagues searched a gene ``library'' containing thousands of samples of brain tissue from people who had died of MS to look for genes possibly involved in the disease.
Several different forms of a gene that makes a protein called osteopontin showed up over and over again, Steinman told Reuters Health.
``We found a dozen copies of osteopontin,'' he said.
The researchers next studied the expression, or switching on, of the osteopontin gene in experimental models of MS in mice. They found that the expression of the gene varied in different stages of the disease. For instance, the gene was expressed in neurons when symptoms were present, but not during remission of the disease.
The investigators also discovered that the MS-like disease was much less severe in mice that lacked osteopontin. These mice also experienced more frequent remissions of the disease than mice that had the gene. The results of the research are published in the November 23rd issue of the journal Science.
MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease, meaning that it occurs because the body's immune system has turned against its own tissue. Osteopontin appears to interact with a type of immune-system cell called a T helper cell-1 to affect MS, the report indicates.
The authors speculate that targeting the expression of the gene may help block the development of progressive MS.
According to Steinman, other genes in the library besides the osteopontin gene may play a role in MS.
``We have identified the titles but haven't yet read the contents,'' he said.
SOURCE: Science 2001;294:1731-1735.
Article found at:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011122/hl/ms_gene_1.html
You'll notice that they don't even bother to mention that MS can cause pain.
David Berg
The findings suggest that blocking the activity of the gene may slow the progress of MS, researchers say.
Multiple sclerosis and many other types of neurological diseases slowly destroy myelin, the thin, protective coating that insulates nerve fibers in the brain and spine. The destruction of myelin can lead to numbness, muscle weakness and stiffness, impaired vision and coordination problems.
Dr. Lawrence Steinman of Stanford University in California and colleagues searched a gene ``library'' containing thousands of samples of brain tissue from people who had died of MS to look for genes possibly involved in the disease.
Several different forms of a gene that makes a protein called osteopontin showed up over and over again, Steinman told Reuters Health.
``We found a dozen copies of osteopontin,'' he said.
The researchers next studied the expression, or switching on, of the osteopontin gene in experimental models of MS in mice. They found that the expression of the gene varied in different stages of the disease. For instance, the gene was expressed in neurons when symptoms were present, but not during remission of the disease.
The investigators also discovered that the MS-like disease was much less severe in mice that lacked osteopontin. These mice also experienced more frequent remissions of the disease than mice that had the gene. The results of the research are published in the November 23rd issue of the journal Science.
MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease, meaning that it occurs because the body's immune system has turned against its own tissue. Osteopontin appears to interact with a type of immune-system cell called a T helper cell-1 to affect MS, the report indicates.
The authors speculate that targeting the expression of the gene may help block the development of progressive MS.
According to Steinman, other genes in the library besides the osteopontin gene may play a role in MS.
``We have identified the titles but haven't yet read the contents,'' he said.
SOURCE: Science 2001;294:1731-1735.
Article found at:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011122/hl/ms_gene_1.html
You'll notice that they don't even bother to mention that MS can cause pain.
David Berg