The variant methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase c.1298A > C (p.E429A) is associated with multiple sclerosis in a German case-control study

• Published in: Neuroscience letters 2010-01, Vol.468 (3), p.183-185
• Main Authors: Klotz, L., Farkas, M., Bain, N., Keskitalo, S., Semmler, A., Ineichen, B., Jelcic, J., Klockgether, T., Kölsch, H., Weller, M., Linnebank, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Case-control study; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic Association Studies; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Humans; Male; Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) - genetics; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - genetics; Mutation, Missense; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.10.057

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. We investigated the association of two missense variants of the MTHFR gene, i.e. MTHFR c.677C > T (p.A222 V) and c.1298A > C (p.E429A), in 138 patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis of relapsing-remitting course and 138 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. No significant differences were found in the frequency of the MTHFR c.677C > T polymorphism between MS patients and healthy controls. However, the genotype frequencies of the missense variant MTHFR c.1298A > C were significantly different between patients (AA/AC/CC: 0.34/0.55/0.11) and controls (0.52/0.36/0.12; Pearson's χ 2 = 11.1; p = 0.004). These results suggest that homozygosity for the A allele of MTHFR c.1298A > C may be protective against the incidence of MS. If confirmed in an independent study sample, the underlying mechanisms should be investigated, which may lead to novel insights in biochemical factors influencing the aetiology and pathophysiology of MS.