A group of proteins could help multiple sclerosis patients get more accurate diagnostics about the severity and progress of their disease, Swedish researchers have reported.
Researchers at Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology analysed tens of thousands of protein fragments for new autoimmunity biomarkers to identify proteins that distinguish groups of MS patients according to the severity of the disease and how the disease develops over time.
A group of 51 have been identified as being useful for future research in the diagnosis of MS, says Peter Nilsson, professor in proteomics at the School of Biotechnology, in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.
“This is to study the origin of the disease and its development – how severe it will be and how quickly it evolves over time,” he says.
The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) project has afforded Nilsson and his colleagues to access more than 38,000 proteins so they can continue with their research.
“We expect a whole new field of research to open up around autoimmune disease, and with that, new insights,” Nilsson says.
Nilsson P et al. Autoantibody profiling in multiple sclerosis using arrays of human protein fragments. Mol Cell Proteomics. mcp.M112.026757. 3 June 2013. doi:10.1074/mcp.M112.026757
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