Plasma levels of soluble NCAM in multiple sclerosis

Area of Science:

• Neuroimmunology
• Biomarkers in Neurological Diseases

Background:

• Adhesion molecules in the central nervous system are implicated in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis, contributing to inflammation, neurodegeneration, and disability.
• Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is hypothesized to be involved in repair and remyelination, crucial processes in MS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate plasma levels of soluble neural cell adhesion molecule (sNCAM), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), and soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) in MS patients and healthy individuals.
• To explore the association of these soluble adhesion molecules with clinical and MRI-derived measures of disease burden, including lesion volumes and brain atrophy.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 85 relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) patients, 53 progressive MS (P-MS) patients, and 42 healthy individuals (HI).
• Measurement of plasma levels of sNCAM, sICAM-1, and sVCAM-1.
• Correlation analysis with clinical data and MRI measures (lesion volumes, global and regional atrophy).

Main Results:

• No significant correlations were found between plasma adhesion molecule levels and MRI measures of lesion volumes or atrophy.
• sNCAM and sVCAM-1 levels were significantly higher in P-MS patients compared to HI.
• sVCAM-1 levels varied significantly among patients receiving different disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and HI.
• Positive correlation observed between sNCAM and sVCAM-1 levels in both MS patients and HI, while sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 correlation was specific to MS patients.

Conclusions:

• Elevated plasma levels of sNCAM and sVCAM-1 in progressive MS suggest their potential involvement in the disease process.
• Differences in sVCAM-1 levels based on DMTs warrant further investigation.
• The association of sNCAM with MS disease progression merits additional research.