Whole blood gene expression profiling of multiplex multiple sclerosis family

This experiment was carried out in the context of a whole-genome sequencing study in 4 affected and 4 unaffected relatives of a consanguineous Italian family characterized by the high prevalence of multiple sclerosis. These data were used to evaluate differences in GRAMD1B gene expression in whole blood comparing healthy and affected subjects of the family. Functional experiments have been subsequently performed to evaluate the involvement of this gene in multiple sclerosis. Total RNA from whole blood was collected from 10 family members (4 affected with multiple sclerosis and 6 unaffected) using the PaxGene System (PreAnalytix). Sample collection was performed at baseline and after 6 months.