Understanding the Genetic Nature of Multiple Sclerosis Using Next-Generation Sequencing Genomic Analysis Methods

Abstract

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an incapacitating neurological illness, where changes in gene expression play a crucial role. Affecting nearly two million people worldwide, MS is the most common acquired neurological disorder of young adults just after physical trauma. Up to now, an understanding of the complex molecular mechanism of MS, which is vital to develop effective therapies, has remained elusive. Most of the studies that have been conducted to address this problem have used microarray technology, which does not reflect the high variability of protein expression. The primary goal of this work was to analyze the molecular interactions and possible sequence variants underlying the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by utilizing RNA-Seq expression data, which is also capable of catching the high variability in protein expression associated with MS pathology. Results from this study will deliver a better understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms underlying MS and, hopefully, provide a groundwork for effective therapeutics. At the end of the study I ended up with a list of candidate genes, among them Transcriptions Factors, and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms with potential implications in MS. Future studies will need to incorporate xiv more metadata and biological replicates in the analysis. Experimental validation will also required.