Grant: Project Grant

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic brain disease with an unknown cause or cure. At present, the drugs used for treating MS patients target the immune system and have very little effect on preventing disease progression and neurodegeneration. While cells of the immune system play a significant role in MS, we must uncover novel strategies that both protect the brain and promote repair following injury. Such strategies would not only benefit MS, but other neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's, stroke, Parkinson's disease, and ALS. MS is a highly complex disease that involves significant cross-talk between cells of the brain and immune system. Unfortunately, many of the drugs that selectively target molecules involved in this cross-talk are ineffective in most neuroinflammatory conditions, including MS. While these drugs are clinically effective for treating several other immune-mediated diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis, we now acknowledge that cell-to-cell communication is much more complex in the inflamed brain and requires further study. Our research focuses on a newly discovered method of cell-to-cell communication that occurs via exosomes, which are small enclosed biological structures that have been implicated in inflammation and neurodegeneration. Exosomes can be detected in all bodily fluids and may have the potential to be used as disease biomarkers and/or targets of drug therapy. In MS, we hypothesize that exosomes deliver molecules called microRNAs that help to mediate inflammation, neurodegeneration, and brain repair. This research will provide a detailed characterization of the microRNAs within exosomes and identify how they can directly impact key genes and biological pathways that are implicated in MS. In the future, the ability to alter microRNA profiles within exosomes may lead to an exciting therapeutic avenue to explore in MS and other brain diseases.