Affiliations: [a] Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [b] School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [c] Department of Hematology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [d] Urogenital Stem Cell Research, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Mohammad Taheri, Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, 8th Floor, SBUMS Bldg., Next to Ayatollah Taleghani Hospital, Evin, Tehran 198396-3113, Iran. Tel.: +98 21 77635431; Fax: +98 2177635431; E-mail:Mohammad_823@yahoo.com
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) as an auto-immune disease is an
inflammatory, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Certain
genes have shown to be involved in the initiation of MS but the specific
role of some of them, e.g. IFNAR1 has not been identified in certain populations
yet. OBJECTIVE: The IFNAR1 as a type I membrane protein
shapes one of the two chains of a receptor for interferons alpha and beta. METHODS: To find out how IFNAR1 functions in the Iranian population, the
researchers compared the expression level of this gene in
relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) samples with normal individuals. RNA from the
whole blood of 50 RR-MS patients and 50 normal controls were extracted. All
patients were HLA-DRB1*15 negative and were responders to interferon-beta with a normal
vitamin D level. The level of IFNAR1 gene expression was measured using
quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: According to the results the RR-MS
patients manifested a statistically higher expression level of IFNAR1 than their
normal counterparts (p= 0.012). Age-wise, females between the ages, 30 to 40
had a significant increase (p= 0.046) but males under 30 showed a
statistically meaningful decrease in the expression level (p= 0.04). In terms
of sex, only the female patients manifested a statistically significant
increase in IFNAR1 (p= 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The overall results show an
increase in IFNAR1 level in MS patients treated with IFN-B.
Keywords: IFNAR1, expression, multiple sclerosis, real time PCR
