No association of the Val66Met polymorphism of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to multiple sclerosis

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 396; no. 3; pp. 217 - 219
• Main Authors: Blanco, Y., Gómez-Choco, M., Arostegui, J.L., Casanova, B., Martínez-Rodríguez, J.E., Boscá, I., Munteis, E., Yagüe, J., Graus, F., Saiz, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 03-04-2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism; Biological and medical sciences; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor - genetics; Case-Control Studies; Confidence Intervals; DNA Mutational Analysis - methods; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic susceptibility; Humans; Male; Methionine - genetics; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - genetics; Odds Ratio; Polymorphism, Genetic; Valine - genetics; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Multiple sclerosis; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Genetic susceptibility; BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism; Sensitivity; Brain derived neurotrophic factor; Polymorphism
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2005.11.032

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin produced by neurons and immune cells, promotes neuronal survival and repair during development and after CNS injury. The BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism is functional and induces abnormal intracellular trafficking and decreased BDNF release. Therefore, we investigated the impact of the BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism on the susceptibility and clinical course in a case–control study of 224 multiple sclerosis (MS) Spanish patients and 177 healthy controls. We found no evidence for association to susceptibility or severity of the disease in our population. Moreover, we did not observe, in a subgroup of 12 MS patients, that the methionine substitution at position 66 in the prodomain had negative impact in the capacity to produce BDNF by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).