Affiliations: [a] Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [b] School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [c] Urogenital Stem Cell Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [d] Department of Medical Genetics, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, 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, Iran. Tel.:/Fax: +98 21 77635431; E-mail: Mohammad_823@yahoo.com.
Abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by recurrent episodes of demyelination and loss of oligodendrocytes. The demyelination process is caused by various subsets of CD4+ T cells with a Th1 and Th17 phenotype. The retinoid acid-related orphan receptor A (RORA) is expressed in Th17 cells and promote Th17 differentiation. In this study, we compared the expression level of RORA gene in the blood of 50 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients who were treated with IFN-β and 50 healthy controls by TaqMan Quantitative Real-Time PCR. We found that RORA expression was significantly down-regulated in MS patients compared with controls (P= 0.006). However, there was no significant correlation between RORA gene expression and Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Our findings suggest a possible contribution of IFN-β in the downregulation of RORA. In addition, RORA downregulation may be a potential indicator of positive response to interferon beta treatment of multiple sclerosis patients.
