Figure 5. AHR Agonistic Activity Correlates With Time to Conversion From CIS to MS.

AHR agonistic activity in serum samples of patients with CIS who later converted into RRMS (n = 15) was assessed. An AHR ligand–sensitive luciferase assay was used. Relative activity was calculated by dividing firefly luciferase activity (pGud-Luc) by Renilla luciferase activity (pTK-Renilla). Values are means of duplicate measurements. Line shows linear regression of AHR agonistic activity and patients' time to RRMS diagnosis. Significance levels were derived using Spearman correlation analysis (Spearman r = 0.6512; R² = 0.424). AHR = aryl hydrocarbon receptor; CIS = clinically isolated syndrome; MS = multiple sclerosis; RRMS = relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.