Evaluation of the Diagnostic and Predictive Value of Serum Levels of ANT1, ATG5, and Parkin in Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system, which ultimately may lead to various disabilities in patients. No definitive cure has yet been developed for the disease. MRI is the method of choice for imaging MS plaques, which would be useful in disease diagnosis as it becomes progressive. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the serum levels of ANT1 (adenine nucleotide translocase 1), ATG5 (autophagy-related protein 5), and Parkin in patients with MS, all of which play essential roles in MS pathophysiology, as novel serum biomarkers for early diagnosis of the disease. Design and methods: Forty patients in the early stages of the disease, and 40 healthy individuals were selected as the case and control groups. Upon sampling, the serum levels of the biomarkers were measured. Results: The results indicated that autophagy, mitophagy, and mitochondrial apoptosis were different in the case and control groups. The oxidative stress level evaluation revealed low concertation of total antioxidant status (TAS) in the MS patients, while a partial increase accompanied the malondialdehyde (MDA). No significant correlation was observed between oxidative stress and autophagy or mitophagy factors. Conclusion: According to the results obtained from this study, the evaluation of serum levels of ANT1, ATG5, and Parkin could be applied in the diagnosis and follow-up of MS patients.