Researcher takes another step toward discovering how a brain molecule
could halt MS
Fractalkine appears to trigger repair of brain damage caused by the
disease.

Date:
February 1, 2023
Source:
University of Alberta
Summary:
A researcher is one step closer to demonstrating the potential
of a brain molecule called fractalkine to halt and even reverse
the effects of multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative
diseases. Researchers injected fractalkine into mice with chemically
induced MS. They found the treatment increased the number of new
oligodendrocytes -- vital brain and spinal cord cells that produce
myelin in both embryonic and adult brains -- which are damaged
during the MS autoimmune attack.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A University of Alberta researcher is one step closer to demonstrating the potential of a brain molecule called fractalkine to halt and even reverse
the effects of multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases.


========================================================================== Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the myelin, or
fatty lining of nerve cells, is eroded, leading to nerve damage and
slower signalling between the brain and the body. MS symptoms range from blurred vision to complete paralysis, and while there are treatments,
the causes are not fully understood and nothing exists to reverse the
disease process. More than 90,000 Canadians live with MS, according to
the MS Society.

In new research published in Stem Cell Reports,Anastassia Voronova,
an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair in Neural Stem Cell
Biology, injected fractalkine into mice with chemically induced MS.

She found the treatment increased the number of new oligodendrocytes --
vital brain and spinal cord cells that produce myelin in both embryonic
and adult brains -- which are damaged during the MS autoimmune attack.

"If we can replace those lost or damaged oligodendrocytes, then they
could make new myelin and it is believed that would halt the disease progression, or maybe even reverse some of the symptoms," Voronova
says. "That's the Holy Grail in the research community and something
that we're very passionate about." Voronova's earlier research tested
the safety and efficacy of fractalkine in normal mice and found similar beneficial effects. Other researchers have demonstrated that fractalkine
may provide protection for nerves in mouse models before the disease is induced, but this is the first time it has been tested on animals that
already have the disease.

Voronova and her team observed new oligodendrocytes, as well as
reactivated progenitor cells that can regenerate oligodendrocytes,
in the brains of the treated animals. Remyelination occurred in both
the white and grey matter. The researchers also observed a reduction in inflammation, part of the damage caused by the immune system. Next steps
for the treatment include testing it in other diseased mouse models,
including those with neurodegenerative diseases other than MS.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Nervous_System # Immune_System # Stem_Cells #
Brain_Tumor
o Mind_&_Brain
# Brain_Injury # Neuroscience # Multiple_Sclerosis #
Alzheimer's
* RELATED_TERMS
o Multiple_sclerosis o Stem_cell o Embryonic_stem_cell
o Brain_tumor o Brain o Adult_stem_cell o
Excitotoxicity_and_cell_damage o Stem_cell_treatments

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Alberta. Original
written by Gillian Rutherford. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Monique M.A. de Almeida, Adrianne E.S. Watson, Sana Bibi, Nicole L.

Dittmann, Kara Goodkey, Pedram Sharafodinzadeh, Danny Galleguillos,
Maryam Nakhaei-Nejad, Jayasankar Kosaraju, Noam Steinberg,
Beatrix S.

Wang, Tim Footz, Fabrizio Giuliani, Jing Wang, Simonetta
Sipione, Julia M. Edgar, Anastassia Voronova. Fractalkine
enhances oligodendrocyte regeneration and remyelination in
a demyelination mouse model. Stem Cell Reports, 2023; DOI:
10.1016/j.stemcr.2022.12.001 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230201134234.htm

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