IFNAR1 expression level in Iranian multiple sclerosis patients treated with IFN-B

Genetic and Molecular Biology of Multiple Sclerosis Among Iranian Patients: An Overview

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one if the common types of autoimmune disorders in developed countries. Various environmental and genetic factors are associated with initiation and progression of MS. It is believed that the life style changes can be one of the main environmental risk factors. The environmental factors are widely studied and reported, whereas minority of reports have considered the role of genetic factors in biology of MS. Although Iran is a low-risk country in the case of MS prevalence, it has been shown that there was a dramatically rising trend of MS prevalence among Iranian population during recent decades. Therefore, it is required to assess the probable MS risk factors in Iran. In the present study, we summarized all of the reported genes until now which have been associated with MS susceptibility among Iranian patients. To clarify the probable molecular biology of MS progression, we categorized these reported genes based on their cellular functions. This review paves the way of introducing a specific population-based diagnostic panel of genetic markers among the Iranian population for the first time in the world.

Validation of a cell-based colorimetric reporter gene assay for the evaluation of Type I Interferons

The biotherapeutic type I interferons (IFN-I) are indicated to treat several diseases. These products are regulated to guarantee safety and efficacy through critical quality attributes. For this purpose, the development of robust assays is required, followed by its validation to demonstrate their suitability for its intended purpose. Despite there are some commercial kits to evaluate IFN-I signaling, these are focused on measuring in vitro biological response instead of their validation, which is a pharmaceutical industry requirement. The aim of this work was to validate the HEK-Blue IFN-α/β system evaluating the biological activity of IFN-α/β under good laboratory practices, according to international standards. Our results demonstrated that HEK-Blue IFN-α/β system comply with accuracy (r²>0.95) precision (CV < 20%) and specificity for both IFN-α/β; confirming that this assay is robust for this biotherapeutics' evaluation. Thereby, this bioassay could be implemented as a complementary method to the classical anti-proliferative and anti-viral assays under quality control environments.

Down-regulation of TYK2, CBLB and LMP7 genes expression in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients treated with interferon-beta

This study aimed to examine the expression of TYK2, CBLB and LMP7 genes at both mRNA and protein levels in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients in compare with healthy controls. Seventy-eight RRMS patients treated with IFNβ-1a and 79 age- and ethnic-matched healthy subjects were studied. The mRNA expression levels of TYK2, CBLB and LMP7 in PBMCs were quantified by real-time PCR and plasma concentrations of three molecules were measured by ELISA. Results were compared between patients and controls, IFNβ-responders and non-responders. Forty-nine of 78 patients were classified as IFNβ-responders and 29 cases were non-responders. Significantly down-regulated expression of TYK2, CBLB and LMP7 genes was found in the patients group versus controls (P<0.001). Decreased plasma levels of three molecules were observed in patients compared to controls (P<0.001). IFNβ-responders had significantly higher expressions for CBLB (P=0.001) and LMP7 (P=0.02) than non-responders. Also, we observed increased expressions of LMP7 (P=0.39) and CBLB (P=0.02) genes in patients under 30y and increased expression of TYK2 in patients >40years (P=0.002). Our results suggest that expression analysis of TYK2, CBLB and LMP7 genes could be useful for evaluation of T cells immunity and clinical response to IFNβ-therapy in RRMS patients.