Grant: Operating Grant

Multiple sclerosis is the most common disease of the brain in young adults: 75,000 people are affected by this neurological disease in Canada. Despite many years of research, the cause of this illness is still unknown. The immune system usually provides protection against microbes. However, the immune system in multiple sclerosis patients shows abnormalities and it attacks components of the brain as if they were foreign microbes. The purpose of our study is to identify and characterize the role in the development and progression of this disease of a molecule present in elevated amounts in the blood and brain of multiple sclerosis patients. Particular types of white blood cells bear the capacity to kill other cells and are observed in the brain of multiple sclerosis patients at the site of tissue destruction. The goal is to analyze whether the molecule we have identified enhances the capacity of these killing cells to cause damage in the brain of multiple sclerosis patients. We hope to identify new molecules and cells that could eventually be targeted by future treatments.