About the Authors

Lisa G. M. van Baarsen

Contributed equally to this work with: Lisa G. M. van Baarsen, Saskia Vosslamber

Affiliations Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Department of Pathology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Saskia Vosslamber

Contributed equally to this work with: Lisa G. M. van Baarsen, Saskia Vosslamber

Affiliations Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Department of Pathology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Marianne Tijssen

Affiliation Department of Pathology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Josefien M. C. Baggen

Affiliation Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Laura F. van der Voort

Affiliation Department of Neurology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Joep Killestein

Affiliation Department of Neurology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Tineke C. T. M. van der Pouw Kraan

Affiliation Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Chris H. Polman

Affiliation Department of Neurology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Cornelis L. Verweij

c.verweij@vumc.nl

Affiliations Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Department of Pathology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Competing Interests

Prof. Polman reports having received the following: consulting fees from Biogen Idec, Schering AG, Teva, Serono, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, UCB, Astra Zeneca, Roche and Antisense Therapeutics, lecture fees from Biogen Idec, Schering AG, Novartis and Teva, and grant support from Biogen Idec, Schering AG , GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Serono and Teva. Joep Killestein and Laura F. van der Voort worked with companies that market drugs for MS (Schering, Biogen Idec, Serono, Teva) and with some companies that have development programmes for future drugs in MS. Both authors are partially funded by NABINMS, a specific targeted research project on neutralising antibodies to interferon beta in MS, established by the European Commission under its 6th Framework Programme. The VU University Medical Center has filed a provisional patent application entitled “Means and methods for classifying samples of multiple sclerosis patients.” that is based on the present work. LB, CP and CV are listed as co-inventors on that provisional patent application.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: CV LGMv CP SV. Performed the experiments: LGMv SV MT JB. Analyzed the data: LGMv SV. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: LGMv SV. Wrote the paper: CV LGMv SV. Other: Critically revised the manuscript: CP Tv JK LFv JB MT. Supervised the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data: Tv. Collected patient samples: JK LFv JB LGMv. Characterized all patients clinically: JK LFv. Processed samples for the culture experiments: LGMv. Initiated and supervised the study: CV. Contributed to the writing of the paper: CV. Supervised and coordinated this study: CV.