focus area: Causes and Prevention
funding type: Incubator
project type: Investigator Led Research
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease caused by harmful immune responses that attack the body’s own nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. How these immune responses are controlled is still not fully understood. However, recent evidence suggests that certain immune cells, including neutrophils and T cells, play important roles in this process.
Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that typically help protect against infection, but in MS, they may contribute to nerve cell damage. T cells are another type of immune cell involved in coordinating the body’s immune response, and one type, called pathogenic Th17 cells, contributes to MS.
Dr Iain Comerford and his team have explored how neutrophils interact with Th17 cells in MS to drive inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. Their earlier findings in a model of MS suggested that neutrophils may prompt Th17 cells to adopt a state that promotes inflammation (pro-inflammatory) that worsens MS-related damage.
This project studied the specific signals between neutrophils and T cells to better understand how this harmful interaction occurs.
This project identified how neutrophils and T cells interact to drive inflammation in MS, improving understanding of how harmful immune responses are activated.
Dr Comerford’s team identified specific molecules made by neutrophils that can trigger the generation of harmful Th17 cells. They also found that direct contact between neutrophils and Th17 cells promotes the production of inflammatory molecules.
The team also conducted large-scale analysis of neutrophils from both laboratory models of MS and people with MS to see which genes are activated during inflammation. This helped map common biological pathways that are activated in neutrophils in MS.
Further experiments showed how neutrophils influence Th17 cells, with ongoing work exploring which genes are activated in Th17 cells. This work is now being continued with a PhD in Dr Comerford’s lab.
Overall, the findings demonstrate that communication between neutrophils and T cells plays an important role in shaping immune responses in diseases like MS. Identifying the molecules involved in this process provides a foundation for developing new treatments that could reduce inflammation in MS.
One of Dr Comerford’s students graduated with 1st class Honours for part of this work in 2025 and has since commenced a PhD to continue this research.
Updated 31 March 2026
Mr Caleb Wong Han
Professor Shaun McColl
Dr Blagojce Jovcevski
$25,000
2025
1
Current project
