Investigating the effect of valproic acid on the expression of NLRP1 and NLRP3 in monocyte cells of MS patients

Abstract

Valproic acid is an nervous anti-depressant, anti-epileptic, anti-seizure and control of bipolar disorders. This drug is mostly prescribed to prevent seizures caused by stopping the use of neuroleptics. The aim of this study is the investigating the effect of valproic acid on the expression of NLRP1 and NLRP3 in monocyte cells of MS patients. Materials and Methods: This research was a basic science study (Experimental). In this study, the target population was MS patients without an underlying disease such as diabetes with the approval of a neurologist along with the use of MS drugs who referred to emergency department of Imam Reza of Tabriz in 2024. The sample size of this study was 30 people. The sampling method in this study was available. 30 MS patients referred to the MS clinic of Imam Reza Hospital were selected with mild, moderate and severe stages, and 5 cc from the patients were drawn by a laboratory science expert of the hospital laboratory, and monocyte cells were separated from PBMC by MACS method. Monocyte cells were evaluated by flow cytometry to evaluate the purity percentage using CD14 antibody expression. Monocyte cells were then cultured and stimulated with valproic acid as a time course of 0, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours. After the end of the stimulation, the cells were collected and the expression level of NLRP1 and NLRP3 was evaluated by Real Time PCR method and also the amount of these receptors was checked from the supernatants of the cells through ELISA. Results: In this study, the expression level of NLRP1 and NLRP3 genes in all three stages of mild, moderate and severe MS disease in the valproic acid group was significantly higher than in the studied control group (P-value>0.05). Also, with the help of SDS-PAGE method, it was found that the expression level of β-actin gene peptide was clearly higher in valproic acid group than in the studied control group. On the other hand, also the expression level of NF-kB gene peptide was clearly higher in the valproic acid group than in the studied control group.