Identifying Molecular Mechanisms to Promote Myelin Repair
Funding Amount
$298,308
Affiliation(s)
McGill University
Geographic Region(s) / Province(s)
Quebec
Researcher(s)
Research Priorities
Repair/Remyelination
Impact Goal(s)
Understand and Halt Disease Progression
Summary:
- Maintaining healthy myelin, the protective coating of nerve fibers, is essential for the nervous system to communicate and transmit signals from the brain to the rest of the body. Enhancing remyelination, the process of repairing damaged myelin, is therefore an important therapeutic strategy for MS.
- Dr. Timothy Kennedy and team aim to determine the role of factors (DCC, UNC5B, and netrin-1) in preserving and repairing myelin in the brain and spinal cord of mice.
- This research has the potential to identify new targets for therapies that promote and repair myelin in MS.
Project Description:
Myelin is an insulating layer that surrounds nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. Myelin is important for healthy nerve fibres and the proper transmission of nervous system signals to and from the brain. In MS, myelin becomes damaged or lost resulting in damage to nerve fibres and neurodegeneration. There is a crucial unmet need for therapies that promote remyelination, restoring myelin, in MS.
Dr. Timothy Kennedy and team are focused on understanding how to promote remyelination. They are examining two factors called DCC and UNC5B which are receptors for a factor called netrin-1. Previously, the team demonstrated that netrin-1 prevents the migration of myelin repair machinery in regions that are damaged and demyelinated.
In this study, the researchers will test whether removing these two receptors in an animal model of MS will promote remyelination. The researchers will also examine whether the receptors influence the adhesion of myelin to the nerve fibers.
Potential Impact: The findings of this study have the potential to identify new therapeutic targets that promote myelin repair in MS.
Project Status: In Progress