Programmed Cell Death And Expression Of Apoptotic Genes In Multiple Sclerosis Patients

We investigated the programmed cell death (PCD) of myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific T lymphocytes in 47 Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients with acute (AMS) or stable (SMS) MS and 30 Healthy Controls (HC). We analyzed by flow cytometry the MBP-specific CD4+, CD8+ apoptotic and CD3+ proliferating cell percentage, and by RT-PCR different mRNA expression of the apoptosis mediators in MBP-specific sorted CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. The percentage of apoptotic MBP specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was significantly decreased in AMS in comparison to SMS and HC; conversely, a higher proliferation index of MBP specific T cells in AMS and HC in comparison to SMS was shown. A significant increase in cFLIP expression was observed in MBP-specific sorted CD4+ and CD8+ T cells of AMS in comparison to SMS and HC respectively. The observed reduction in apoptosis and increase in the proliferation rate and over-expression of the FLIP gene of MBP-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells n AMS could suggest a defect in the receptor death pathway and an involvement of autoreactive T cells in the immune mediated destruction of the myelin sheath.