Skin sodium is increased in male patients with multiple sclerosis and related animal models

Item Type:	Article
Title:	Skin sodium is increased in male patients with multiple sclerosis and related animal models
Creators Name:	Huhn, K. and Linz, P. and Pemsel, F. and Michalke, B. and Seyferth, S. and Kopp, C. and Chaudri, M.A. and Rothhammer, V. and Dörfler, A. and Uder, M. and Nagel, A.M. and Müller, D.N. and Waschbisch, A. and Lee, D.H. and Bäuerle, T. and Linker, R.A. and Haase, S.
Abstract:	Novel MRI techniques allow a noninvasive quantification of tissue sodium and reveal the skin as a prominent compartment of sodium storage in health and disease. Since multiple sclerosis (MS) immunopathology is initiated in the periphery and increased sodium concentrations induce proinflammatory immune cells, the skin represents a promising compartment linking high sodium concentrations and MS immunopathology. We used a 7-T sodium MRI ((23)Na-MRI) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to investigate the skin sodium content in two mouse models of MS. We additionally performed 3-T(23)Na-MRI of calf skin and muscles in 29 male relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients and 29 matched healthy controls. Demographic and clinical information was collected from interviews, and disease activity was assessed by expanded disability status scale scoring. (23)Na-MRI and chemical analysis demonstrated a significantly increased sodium content in the skin during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis independent of active immunization. In male patients with RRMS, (23)Na-MRI demonstrated a higher sodium signal in the area of the skin compared to age- and biological sex-matched healthy controls with higher sodium, predicting future disease activity in cranial MRI. In both studies, the sodium enrichment was specific to the skin, as we found no alterations of sodium signals in the muscle or other tissues. Our data add to the recently identified importance of the skin as a storage compartment of sodium and may further represent an important organ for future investigations on salt as a proinflammatory agent driving autoimmune neuroinflammation such as that in MS.
Keywords:	Multiple Sclerosis, Sodium Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Skin, Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis, Animals, Mice
Source:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
ISSN:	0027-8424
Publisher:	National Academy of Sciences
Volume:	118
Number:	28
Page Range:	e2102549118
Date:	13 July 2021
Additional Information:	Published under the PNAS license (https://www.pnas.org/author-center/publication-charges).
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2102549118
External Fulltext:	View full text on PubMed Central
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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