title: Progression in multiple sclerosis is associated with low endogenous NCAM.
abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a CNS disorder characterized by demyelination and neurodegeneration. Although hallmarks of recovery (remyelination and repair) have been documented in early MS, the regenerative capacity of the adult CNS per se remains uncertain with the wide held belief that it is either limited or non-existent. The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is a cell adhesion molecule that has been widely implicated in axonal outgrowth, guidance and fasciculation. Here, we used in vitro and in vivo of MS to investigate the role of NCAM in disease progression. We show that in health NCAM levels decrease over time, but this occurs acutely after demyelination and remains reduced in chronic disease. Our findings suggest that depletion of NCAM is one of the factors associated with or possibly responsible for disease progression in MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroimmunology, Institute of Neurology, London, UK. s.gnanapavan@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sharmilee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gnanapavan
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Heywood
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Khadija
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rantell
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Keir
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steinman
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giovannoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules