Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition where a person’s immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord. Robust evidence shows that B cells, a type of immune cell, are important to cause attacks of MS. B cells produce immune responses to specific targets like viruses or bacteria but can also react to our own body, resulting in autoimmune disease.
B cells can have several essential functions, including producing antibodies. Antibodies are small proteins that recognise and bind to specific targets, to direct other immune cells how to respond to infections.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which can cause glandular fever, is important for the development of MS. This project uses laboratory-made proteins that mimic natural antibodies (recombinant antibodies) to identify and study the targets for B cells, including parts of EBV. Identifying the targets recognised by B cells in MS may help to diagnose the disease, identify people at higher risk of MS, and develop targeted therapies to be used in future.
Over the past year, Dr Stephanie Trend and her team focused on improving the process of making and testing antibodies in the laboratory. This involved developing better ways to introduce genetic instructions into cells, grow them, and collect the antibodies they produce. These improvements will help them move forward with the next stage of their research.
Over the next 12 months, Dr Trend and her team aim to finish producing their recombinant antibodies. They are planning to test how these antibodies react to parts of EBV and to parts of the brain. They also want to determine how well these antibodies bind to any identified targets.
This project has led to new collaborations with the teams of The Kids Research Institute Australia and the Monoclonal Antibody Facility at Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research in WA.
Last updated 31 March 2025
Dr Tao Wang
Professor Martyn French
Professor Allan Kermode
Dr Jonatan Leffler
$249,530
2024
3 years
Current project
