DataSheet_1_The prevalence of IgG antibodies against milk and milk antigens in patients with multiple sclerosis.docx

IntroductionMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). The pathophysiology of MS is complex and is said to be influenced by multiple environmental determinants, including diet. We and others have previously demonstrated how consumption of bovine milk can aggravate disease severity in MS patients, which can be explained by molecular mimicry between milk antigens and those expressed within the CNS. In this study we set out to identify alternatives to drinking cow milk which might be less detrimental to MS patients who have a genetic predisposition towards developing antibody titers against bovine milk antigens that cross-react with CNS antigens.
MethodsTo this end, we screened 35 patients with MS and 20 healthy controls for their IgG reactivity against an array of animal-sourced milk, plant-based alternatives as well as individual antigens from bovine milk.
ResultsWe demonstrate that MS patients have a significantly higher IgG response to animal-sourced milk, especially cow milk, in comparison to healthy donors. We also show that the reactivity to cow milk in MS patients can be attributed to reactivity against different bovine milk antigens. Finally, our correlation data indicate the co-existence of antibodies to individual bovine milk antigens and their corresponding cross-reactive CNS antigens.
DiscussionTaken together, we suggest screening of blood from MS patients for antibodies against different types of milk and milk antigens in order to establish a personalized diet regimen.

引言 多发性硬化症（Multiple sclerosis, MS）是一种中枢神经系统（central nervous system, CNS）慢性脱髓鞘疾病。其病理生理学机制复杂，且被认为受多种环境因素（包括饮食）影响。本团队与其他学者此前已证实，牛乳摄入可加重MS患者的疾病严重程度，该现象可通过牛乳抗原与中枢神经系统内表达抗原之间的分子模拟（molecular mimicry）得到解释。本研究旨在探寻牛乳的替代饮品，以降低对存在遗传易感性的MS患者的不利影响——这类患者体内可产生针对牛乳抗原的抗体滴度，且该抗体可与中枢神经系统抗原发生交叉反应。
方法 为此，我们对35名MS患者与20名健康对照者进行了筛查，检测其针对一系列动物源乳、植物基替代品以及牛乳来源的单个抗原的IgG（免疫球蛋白G，Immunoglobulin G）反应性。
结果 本研究证实，与健康供者相比，MS患者对动物源乳（尤其是牛乳）的IgG应答水平显著更高。我们还发现，MS患者对牛乳的反应性可归因于其针对多种牛乳抗原的抗体反应。最后，相关数据表明，针对单个牛乳抗原的抗体与其对应的交叉反应性中枢神经系统抗原抗体可同时存在。
讨论 综上，我们建议对MS患者的血液进行筛查，检测其针对不同类型乳及乳抗原的抗体水平，从而制定个性化饮食方案（personalized diet regimen）。