MGAT5 alters the severity of multiple sclerosis

Abstract Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a genetically complex immune mediated, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. To date no genetic variants have been unambiguously linked to disease severity. We have conducted a genome wide screen, using Affymetrix Genechip® 500K technology, for severity in 1040 MS patients. Two markers within MGAT5 , a gene coding for a glycosylation enzyme, were found to be significantly associated with outcome in the screening as well as in an independent population (combined p -values: 2.8 × 10 − 6 and 1.5 × 10 − 7 ).