Bioluminescence analysis
Siberian scientists are developing a new way to detect multiple sclerosis
Siberian scientists have proposed a quick and inexpensive way to detect multiple sclerosis based on aptamers and bioluminescent proteins. For the analysis, it will be enough for the patient to donate blood. The results of the study are published in the journal Analytica Chimica Acta.
Multiple sclerosis is a severe, incurable disease of the nervous system, in which pathogenic antibodies begin to attack the main protein of the lining of nerve cells – myelin. It is responsible for the integrity of nerve cells and the efficiency of the flow of signals through nerve endings. Violation of this process can lead to various consequences from mild numbness, to paralysis and blindness. The destruction of myelin passes gradually, so the disease does not make itself felt for a long time. Most often, the disease manifests itself at the age of 15-40 years.
Early diagnosis and timely treatment can slow down the development of the disease and improve the patient's life. At the moment, methods for determining multiple sclerosis are complex and not always available. To identify and confirm the diagnosis, magnetic resonance imaging and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid are usually performed - expensive, complex and time–consuming methods.
Scientists of the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center SB RAS together with colleagues from the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Chemical Biology SB RAS and Krasnoyarsk State Medical University named after V.F. Voino-Yasenetsky proposed to detect multiple sclerosis using RNA aptamers and bioluminescent proteins. It will be possible to determine the presence of the disease by performing a blood test, which makes this method easy, fast, inexpensive and affordable.
Aptamers are laboratory–synthesized DNA or RNA molecules that can recognize and connect to specific target molecules. In this analysis, the target is pathogenic autoantibodies that attack the myelin of their own body. When an aptamer finds a target cell in a patient's blood, it binds to it. By itself, the combination of the associated aptamer and the target does not manifest itself in any way. In order to identify the obtained complexes, it was proposed to pre-"mark" the aptamer with a bioluminescent protein obelin, which is able to glow. If the target has not been detected, the glow does not occur.
The study was conducted on 177 blood samples of healthy and sick people with a confirmed diagnosis. The fusion of aptamer and bioluminescent protein allows molecules to be more sensitive to the target and detect it faster. Recognition of healthy patients with negative indicators is 96%. The probability that patients with positive results actually have the disease is 52%. The test is not yet able to distinguish the stages of the disease.
"We believe that in the future, after finalizing our test system, it will be possible to recognize multiple sclerosis, monitor its course and evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy used. Now complex and expensive methods are used for this. In comparison, blood diagnostics is easier, faster and more profitable. MRI, of course, will remain the main method of diagnosis, we are not going to replace it. Our analysis will be a convenient additional tool, suitable also for a wide initial examination of patients," says Vasilisa Krasitskaya, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Researcher at the Institute of Biophysics of the KSC SB RAS.
The study was conducted with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.
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