Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating neurological disease, which is presumed to be a consequence of infiltrating lymphocytes that are autoreactive to myelin proteins. ATP and adenosine contribute to fine-tuning immune responses and NTPDase (CD39) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) are important enzymes in the control of the extracellular levels of these molecules at the site of inflammation. We evaluated the activity and expression of NTPDase and adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in lymphocytes from patients with the relapsing-remitting form of MS (RRMS). ⋯ The regulation of ATP and adenosine levels by NTPDase and ADA activities may be important to preserve cellular integrity and to modulate the immune response in MS.