Elevated and dysregulated bone morphogenic proteins in immune cells of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

The abundance of neural stem cells (NSCs) in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions with extensive astrogliosis suggests that fate factors of NSCs, such as the bone morphogenic protein (BMP) signaling maybe defective in MS. We found an elevated mRNA expression and protein secretion of BMP-2,4,5 but not of BMP-7. This was primarily in T cells. Cell stimulation with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies or with IFN-γ induced expression of BMP-2,4,5 mRNA in untreated RR-MS patients, indicating that proinflammatory processes in MS may play a role in the BMP-2,4,5 productions in T cells. These results contribute to the understanding of the negligible extent of neurogenesis and oligodendrogenesis with extensive astrogliogenesis and the failure of adequate tissue repair in MS lesions.