title: Transcriptomic profile reveals gender-specific molecular mechanisms driving multiple sclerosis progression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although the most common clinical presentation of multiple sclerosis (MS) is the so called Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS), the molecular mechanisms responsible for its progression are currently unknown. To tackle this problem, a whole-genome gene expression analysis has been performed on RRMS patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The comparative analysis of the Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST microarray data from peripheral blood leucocytes obtained from 25 patients in remission and relapse and 25 healthy subjects has revealed 174 genes altered in both remission and relapse, a high proportion of them showing what we have called "mirror pattern": they are upregulated in remission and downregulated in relapse or vice versa. The coexpression analysis of these genes has shown that they are organized in three female-specific and one male-specific modules.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The interpretation of the modules of the coexpression network suggests that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation of B cells happens in MS relapses; however, qPCR expression data of the viral genes supports that hypothesis only in female patients, reinforcing the notion that different molecular processes drive disease progression in females and males. Besides, we propose that the "primed" state showed by neutrophils in women is an endogenous control mechanism triggered to keep EBV reactivation under control through vitamin B12 physiology. Finally, our results also point towards an important sex-specific role of non-coding RNA in MS.
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain ; Spanish Multiple Sclerosis Net (REEM), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Haritz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Irizar
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain ; Spanish Multiple Sclerosis Net (REEM), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Maider
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Culla
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sepúlveda
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain ; Spanish Multiple Sclerosis Net (REEM), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Matías
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sáenz-Cuesta
authors.affiliation: Spanish Multiple Sclerosis Net (REEM), Barcelona, Spain ; Hospital Universitario Donostia, Immunology Department, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.
authors.forename: Álvaro
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Prada
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain ; Spanish Multiple Sclerosis Net (REEM), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Castillo-Triviño
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany ; Center for Brain and Cognition, Universistat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Gorka
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zamora-López
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Donostia, Neurology Department, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain ; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Adolfo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López de Munain
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain ; Spanish Multiple Sclerosis Net (REEM), Barcelona, Spain ; Hospital Universitario Donostia, Neurology Department, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olascoaga
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain ; Spanish Multiple Sclerosis Net (REEM), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Otaegui
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D018450:Disease Progression; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008957:Models, Genetic; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012737:Sex Factors; D014155:Transcobalamins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics*; D014775:Virus Activation / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014155:Transcobalamins