Page 97 - ITPS-8-1

INNOSC Theranostics

and Pharmacological Sciences

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
BDNF-AS as a promising downregulated

biomarker for multiple sclerosis pathogenesis
and diagnosis

1,2
Ahmed Kamal * , Menha Swellam 3 , Nevin M. Shalaby 4 ,
Marwa K. Darwish 1 , and Eslam M. El-Nahrery 1
1 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Suez University, PO Box 43518 Suez, Egypt
2 Biotechnology Program, Basic and Applied Science Institute, Egypt-Japan University of Science
and Technology (E-JUST), New Borg El-Arab City, Alexandria, PO Box 21934, Egypt
3 Department of Biochemistry, Biotechnology Research Institute, High Throughput Molecular and
Genetic Laboratory, Central Laboratories Network and the Centers of Excellence, National Research
Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt
4 Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

Abstract
*Corresponding author: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a prevalent neurological disorder affecting the central
Ahmed Kamal nervous system, with a global incidence exceeding 2.5 million cases. Brain-derived
(ahmed.kamal@sci.suezuni.edu.eg)
neurotrophic factor-antisense (BDNF-AS), a long non-coding RNA, has been identified
Citation: Kamal A, Swellam M, as a factor that negatively influences the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic
Shalaby NM, Darwish MK,
El-Nahrery EM. BDNF-AS as a factor, a neurotrophin protein that exhibits heightened expression within actively
promising downregulated biomarker demyelinating lesions in MS. This study aims to assess the relative expression of
for multiple sclerosis pathogenesis BDNF-AS across all MS subtypes, evaluate its diagnostic accuracy, and explore
and diagnosis. INNOSC
Theranostics and Pharmacological correlations between BDNF-AS expression and disease parameters. Quantitative
Sciences. 2025;8(1):91-100. real-time polymerase chain reaction was employed to quantify the expression
doi: 10.36922/itps.4407
levels of BDNF-AS in the serum samples of 54 individuals diagnosed with various
Received: August 1, 2024 types of MS and 20 healthy controls. Statistical analyses were performed to assess
1st revised: December 25, 2024 the correlation and diagnostic efficacy of BDNF-AS expression levels. The expression
of BDNF-AS was markedly reduced in individuals with MS compared to the control
2nd revised: January 6, 2025
group (P < 0.01). Notably, the highest expression levels were observed in patients
Accepted: January 21, 2025 diagnosed with secondary progressive MS. Using a defined cutoff value of 0.31, and
Published online: February 21, the findings suggest that BDNF-AS expression in serum has notable potential as a
2025 specific and sensitive diagnostic marker for MS. In conclusion, this study provides
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). a comprehensive evaluation of BDNF-AS across all MS subtypes, highlighting its
This is an Open-Access article diagnostic accuracy and the association between elevated BDNF-AS expression and
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution disease progression in secondary progressive MS. Further research is needed to
License, permitting distribution, validate these results.
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited. Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor;
Publisher’s Note: AccScience Brain-derived neurotrophic factor-antisense; Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis;
Publishing remains neutral with Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis; Primary progressive multiple sclerosis; Gene
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional expression
affiliations.

Volume 8 Issue 1 (2025) 91 doi: 10.36922/itps.4407