In multiple sclerosis (MS), cells of the immune system invade the brain and spinal cord and cause tissue damage that leads to loss of function of the nervous system. A specific class of T cells, a type of immune cell that is strongly implicated in MS, are recruited to the brain and spinal cord. Why this happens is not fully understood. Potential new treatments include drugs that can block movement of the immune cells that promote inflammation to the brain.
Disease-modifying therapies that block T cell recruitment in MS may have effects on other aspects of the immune system. Strategies that specifically control movement of T cells in MS have yet to be identified.
In this project, Dr Iain Comerford and his team will investigate the role of three proteins that they believe work together to promote recruitment of inflammatory cells into the brain. They will do this by generating models of MS lacking these proteins to determine the effect of this on an MS-like disease.
Dr Comerford and his team have been studying combinations of protein molecules that work together to make T cells move into the brain during MS. They found a particular combination that attracts T cells to the brain in MS and are working to reveal other molecules that also contribute to this. This work may lead to the identification of new ways in which relapsing MS can be better treated in future.
Over the next 12 months, Dr Comerford and his team will test several of these proteins in a laboratory model to examine their functions. The team are currently preparing a publication for submission to a peer reviewed journal.
Updated 31 March 2025
$246,953
2023
3 years
Current project
