Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune nervous system disorder characterized by leukocytes recruitment into nervous system and demyelination. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) mediates the extravasation of leukocytes and their accumulation in inflamed tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probable association of ICAM-1 Exon 4 (G241R) and Exon 6 (E469K) gene polymorphisms with circulating levels of sICAM-1 in MS patients (n=78) and consecutive unrelated healthy controls (n=123). Analysis of ICAM-1 polymorphisms was performed by PCR with sequence-specific primers (SSP) and concentration of sICAM-1 in serum was performed by ELISA techniques. No significant differences were detected for allele frequencies of ICAM-1 Exon 4 and Exon 6 in MS patients than in the controls respectively (ns-P > 0.05). Moreover, baseline serum sICAM-1 concentrations to be significantly increased among patient carriers of K allele as compared with the respective non-carriers of these variants (P < 0.001). This study illustrates that K allele of the ICAM-1 codon 469 mutation might contribute to the pathogenesis of MS through increase levels of sICAM-1 and establish inflammation. Our result invites further investigation relevant to understanding the mechanisms underlying the immunopathogenesis of this autoimmune disease.

Key words: Polymorphism, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, heterogeneity, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP).