Immune cell NT-3 expression is associated with brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis patients

While neurotrophins mediate cell survival and proliferation in the nervous system, they are also expressed within peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the immunological system. In multiple sclerosis (MS) neurotrophins released from PBMCs might play a neuroprotective role, delaying neurodegeneration within central nervous system. We aimed for identifying the link between neurotrophins' PBMCs expression and brain atrophy markers in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients. We have found that neurotrophin-3 PBMCs concentration is strongly correlated with brain-parenchymal fraction and corpus callosum cross-sectional area, which are well-established brain atrophy measures. Thus, PBMC-derived neurotrophin-3 might exert a direct or indirect neuroprotective effect in MS. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.