The possible involvement of sema3A and sema4A in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Background: Immune semaphorins are widely accepted to have functional impact on autoimmune diseases. Objectives: To assess the status of sema3A and sema4A in the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Results: Sema3A expression on (T regulatory cells)Tregs was decreased in MS patients, compared to healthy controls (35.85 +/- 16.7% vs 88.27 +/- 3.8%; p <= 0.001). Serum levels of sema3A were decreased in MS patients 2.95 +/- 0.43 vs 18.67 +/- 5.7 ng/ml in healthy individuals; p <= 0.001. Sema4A serum levels were increased in MS patients compared to healthy individuals (12.99 +/- 8.6 vs 5.83 +/- 3.91 ng/ml; p <= 0.001). Sema3A and sema4A serum levels were found to be in negative/positive correlation with MS disease severity (r(s) = 0.62, r(s) =-0.49, respectively). Conclusion: We show that sema3A is a regulatory molecule in MS, whereas sema4A is a stimulatory one. Targeting sema3A and sema4A could become a potential therapeutic approach in MS.