ELEVATED SERUM LEVELS OF INTERLEUKIN-12 IN CHRONIC PROGRESSIVE MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS

The serum levels of the heterodimeric cytokine IL-12 were measured by solid-phase ELISA in a group of healthy subjects, multiple sclerosis ( MS) patients with secondary chronic progressive course of the disease and patients suffering from other neurological diseases (OND). Serum l evels of IL-12 higher than 5 pg/ml (limit of sensitivity of the assay) were only found in 2/30 (6.7%) of the healthy subjects and none of th e 8 subjects with OND. In contrast, IL-12 was found in the majority of CPMS patients' sera (10/15, 66.7%) with values ranging between 5.5 an d 18.6 pg/ml. These results are suggestive for an up-regulated product ion of IL-12 in CPMS.