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Macrophage Inhibitory Cytokine 1 (MIC-1/GDF15) is a protein that was discovered in Australia through the research program in which Associate Professor David Brown is involved. It is now being internationally developed as a new therapy for a number of diseases (including obesity and inflammation).
Inflammatory diseases, such as MS, are characterised by disruptions to both the innate and adaptive immune systems. The most difficult to treat forms of MS, which are relentlessly progressive, appear to be mediated by innate immune cells such as dendritic cells and the microglia that are resident in the brain. There are currently no effective treatments for the progressive forms of MS.
Preliminary evidence from Associate Professor Brown’s laboratory suggests that MIC-1/GDF15 modulates the innate immune system and therefore has the potential to be an effective treatment for progressive MS. Completion of this project will determine the mechanisms of action of MIC-1/GDF15, and the consequences of its expression on innate and adaptive immune responses in MS. Additionally, Associate Professor Brown will provide proof-of-principle for MIC-1/GDF15 as a therapeutic agent for autoimmune diseases such as MS.
The first stage of Associate Professor Brown’s project used immune cells grown in the laboratory to determine whether MIC-1/GDF15 has an effect on reducing the activity of these cells. Results from this stage will then inform the second phase of study, where MIC-1/GDF15 will be tested in an MS-like disease in mice to determine whether it can reduce disease.
The first two stages of Associate Professor Brown’s project are ongoing and early work has shown the effects of MIC-1/GDF15 on different immune cell types, and how this would influence overall immune system functioning in an MS-like disease. Associate Professoressor Brown is currently undertaking proof-of-principle analyses and confirming replication analyses to verify his results and looking for avenues to rapidly translate this research from the laboratory to the clinic. The identification of the mechanism by which MIC-1/GDF15 acts and confirmation of its therapeutic potential in models of MS will not only provide important insights into the pathogenic mechanisms of MS, but also provides the rare opportunity to rapidly progress experimental results into direct benefits for people with MS.
Updated: 12 April 2016
Associate Professor David Brown
$250,000
2014
3 years
Past project
