Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is still challenging recently due to the lack of a specific diagnostic test. Proteomics analysis was applied to biomarkers discovery and their pathways study. METHODS: First, the proteins of CSF from MS patients and control group were analyzed individually with 2D-DIGE technology (two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis). Then, protein spots were found out with DeCyder6.0 software which showed different expression levels in the gel images between the two groups. The information regarding these proteins was collected based on MALDI-TOF/MS and related database searches. Lastly, interaction between these proteins was further analyzed by using Metacore software. RESULTS: There were 13 proteins that showed more than 1.5-fold difference in expression levels between the two groups. Furthermore, the identification made by MALDI-TOF/MS revealed that one of the most significant differential proteins was DBP (vitamin D-binding protein), which decreased in the experimental group. This result was confirmed by ELISA (P < 0.01). Moreover, network between the 13 proteins were partially got, which showed some biological interactions. CONCLUSION: These results support a correlation between the level of DBP and MS. DBP may be a potential useful biomarker for diagnosis or a medicine target for treatment of MS.