Assessment of expression of RELN signaling pathway in multiple sclerosis patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Nearly 85% of MS patients are recognized with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), a typical clinical course of disease which is distinguished by several episodes of relapses, separated by remissions of neurological impairment. Failure of repair mechanisms is a main factor in progression of neurological dysfunction in MS. Several lines of evidence suggest that Reelin (RELN) signaling pathway can contribute in the regulation of repair mechanisms in MS patients. In the present study, we assessed expression levels of RELN and Disabled-1 (DAB1), two key genes in RELN signaling pathway, in peripheral blood of 50 RRMS patients and 50 matched healthy subjects. RELN was significantly down-regulated in total MS patients, and total female patients compared with the matched controls. However, no statistically significant difference was found in DAB1 mRNA expression between MS patients and controls. Furthermore, considerable correlations were detected between expression levels of RELN and DAB1 in the patients group. There were no significant correlations between expression levels of genes and EDSS, disease duration or age at onset. Our study provides evidences for the role of RELN signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of MS. Further studies are required to clarify the exact clinical significance of this pathway in MS patients.