Contributions of vitamin D response elements and HLA promoters to multiple sclerosis risk

Association of CYP2R1 rs10766197 with MS risk and disease progression

“…In particular, HLA‐DRB5*0101/HLA‐DRB1*1501/HLA‐DQA*0102/HLA‐DQB1*0602 haplotype has been found to be more common in female than male patients and, in families with two generations of MS, it showed a higher frequency in females of the latest generation (Chao et al, ; Chao, ; Hensiek et al, ). Recently, some studies identified different HLA‐DR alleles associated with high‐risk or protective influences on MS (Nolan et al, ; Chao, Lincoln, Dyment, Ramagopalan, & Ebers, ). However, further studies are mandatory to understand how genetic, epigenetic, hormonal and environmental factors interact in the different development of MS in men and in women.…”

Advances in the immunopathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

“…Current data continue to show support for VitD deficiency as a significant risk factor of multiple sclerosis, as low VitD levels are an early predictor of disease progression [ . Indeed, many multiple sclerosis-associated risk variants, such as HLA-DR15, and genetic susceptibility regions contain VitD response elements, and can therefore potentially be modified by VitD receptor binding [204,205,206 & ,207 & ,208]. Interestingly, recent data revealed enriched VitD-regulated immune response genes in patients with multiple sclerosis having elevated VitD and reduced lesion activity [144 && ].…”

Risk factors for multiple sclerosis and associations with anti-EBV antibody titers

“…The cause of MS is yet to be elucidated but several genetic and environmental factors have been linked to increased risk of developing MS. The risk factors include female gender [1], exposure to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) [2], low vitamin D (25-hydroxy vitamin D) status [3], low exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation [4], smoking [5][6][7], childhood and adolescent obesity [8][9][10][11], and having the HLA-DRB1*15 allele [12][13][14].…”