Differences in Exon Expression and Alternatively Spliced Genes in Blood of Multiple Sclerosis Compared to Healthy Control Subjects

Using whole genome exon microarrays 120 exons were differentially expressed between medication-free multiple sclerosis (MS) subjects in remission and healthy control subjects (HS) (p<0.001, fold change>|1.2|). These exons differentiated MS from HS using cluster analyses, principal components analyses (PCAs) and cross-validation. In addition, 340 genes (transcripts) were predicted to be alternatively spliced in MS compared to HS. These findings may provide insight into the pathophysiology of MS and potentially provide prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers. However, given that multiple comparisons were performed on a very small sample, these preliminary findings require confirmation using a much larger independent cohort.