Multiple sclerosis

Please have patience as I edit this page over the next week! Thank you!--Kirsten Eldredge 04:06, 21 April 2012 (IDT)

Multiple sclerosis (MS)- an autoimmune disease that effects every single victim differently. While some can go through their lives with relatively mild symptoms, others can become incapacitated within years or even months. Defined by Nylander and Hafler, MS is a "multifocal demyelinating disease with progressive neurodegeneration caused by an autoimmune response to self-antigens in a genetically susceptible individual." While the effects of the disease are well known, and various treatments exist for the disease, the exact identity of an antigen or infectious agent that causes the myriad of symptoms is unknown.

There are three ways in which MS is categorized: relapsing-remitting (RRMS), secondary progressive (SPMS), and primary progressive (PPMS). In RRMS, the patient experiences periods of time in which the symptoms considerably increase, although the neurological function of the patient usually returns to normal after the episode. Those with SPMS have symptoms like RRMS, but do not return to normal neurological function after the episode. In PPMS, the patient has an initial episode that never ends. That is, once the symptoms begin, there is no relapse in the neurological degradation.

spinqualitylabelsall models Click on the green links to the left to see key structural features of Interferon Beta (PDB entry 1ifa) Show:Asymmetric Unit Biological Assembly Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate   Export Animated Image   Print3D Interferon-β Interferon-β is a protein growth factor that stimulates an antiviral defense. Its encoding gene is one of only two known vertebrate structural genes that lacks introns. Interferon-β is a relatively simple biological response modifier, with several identifiable regions. It consists of five alpha helices, as well as multiple interconnecting loop regions. Helices A, B and D run parallel to one another, and helices C and E run anti-parallel to the other three helices, but parallel to one another. Helix A consists of residues 6-23; Helix B consists of residues 49-65; Helix C consists of residues 77-91; Helix D consists of residues 112-131; and Helix E consists of residues 135-155. Interferons alpha and beta interact with a receptor at the surface of Interferon receptor Interferon receptor domains N-domain, with two disulfide bonds, C-domain, with one disulfide bond linker region termini regions, no structure. eight clashes between domains Interferon receptor bound to interferon alpha Interferon alpha A comparison of Interferon Alpha to Interferon Beta spinqualitylabelsall models Interferon Alpha Show:Asymmetric Unit Biological Assembly Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate   Export Animated Image   Print3D spinqualitylabelsall models Interferon Beta Show:Asymmetric Unit Biological Assembly Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate   Export Animated Image   Print3D

Other Treatments

Relevant 3D Structures

Interferon Beta

1au1 - Homo sapiens

1ifa, 1wu3 - Mus musculus

Interferon Receptors

3s98, 3se3, 3se4, 1n6u, 1n6v, 2hym, 2kz1, 2lag, 3s8w, 3s9d - Homo sapiens

Proteopedia Page Contributors and Editors (what is this?)

Kirsten Eldredge