Research Report A longitudinal observation of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor mRNA levels in patients with Relapsing–Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Maria Liguori a, ⁎ ,1 , Francesco Fera b,1 , Alessandra Patitucci a , Ida Manna a , Francesca Condino a,e , Paola Valentino c , Pierangela Telarico d , Antonio Cerasa a , Maria Cecilia Gioia a , Gemma di Palma a , Aldo Quattrone a,c a Institute of Neurological Sciences, National Research Council, Contrada Burga, Mangone, Cosenza 87050, Italy b Department of Neuroradiology, University “Magna Graecia”, Campus Universitario, Germaneto, Catanzaro 88100, Italy c Department of Neurology, University “Magna Graecia”, Campus Universitario, Germaneto, Catanzaro 88100, Italy d Unità Operativa di Neurologia, Centro Sclerosi Multipla, Presidio Serraspiga, Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale, Cosenza 87100, Italy e Department of Mathematic and Statistic, University "Federico II", Via Cintia, Monte S. Angelo, 80126 Naples, Italy ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Accepted 6 November 2008 Available online 25 November 2008 This report is part of a 2-year study assessing the functional effect of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and its Val66Met polymorphism on a selected population of Relapsing–Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients from Southern Italy. For this purpose, we measured the peripheral BDNF expression in RRMS patients compared to healthy controls. The influence of concomitant IFNβ therapy was also evaluated. Thirty-six inactive RRMS patients and 37 healthy controls were genotyped for BDNF Val66Met, and total RNA was extracted at time-points 0–24 months. The BDNF level was quantified by ABI Prism 7900 HT Sequence Detection System, and its relative expression was calculated by the comparative method of 2 - ΔΔCt . At baseline and after 24 months, the BDNF levels of RRMS patients resulted significantly higher than controls (p = 0.001), independently of the concomitant IFNβ treatment; no correlations were found with the investigated clinical and MRI features of MS. Otherwise, carriers of the Met-allele showed significantly higher levels of BDNF in RRMS patients than healthy controls (p =0.005). These data was replicated after a 24-month interval. The present study confirms the increased levels of peripheral BDNF levels in RRMS, even during the inactive phase of the disease. Although with caution due to the small sample size, it also underscores the potential role of the Val66Met polymorphism on the peripheral BDNF expression in RRMS. Functional studies are needed to better clarify this issue. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Relapsing–Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met polymorphism mRNA Real-Time PCR Brain volumes BRAIN RESEARCH 1256 (2009) 123 – 128 ⁎ Corresponding author. Fax: +39 0984 969306. E-mail address: m.liguori@isn.cnr.it (M. Liguori). Abbreviations: Relapsing–Remitting, Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS); Brain-Derived, Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF); Interferon, (IFN); Methionine, (Met); Valine, (Val); Central, Nervous System (CNS); Neurotrophins, (NT); Peripheral, Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC); Blood–Brain, Barrier (BBB); Disease, Modifying Drugs (DMD); Grey, Matter (GM) and White Matter (WM); Expanded, Disability Status Score (EDSS); Percentage, Brain Volume Change Quantification (PBVCQ) 1 These authors equally contributed to the paper. 0006-8993/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2008.11.047 available at www.sciencedirect.com www.elsevier.com/locate/brainres