Understanding How Aging Affects Myelin Repair in MS

Start Term
End Term
Funding Amount
$50,000
Affiliation(s)
University of Toronto
Geographic Region(s) / Province(s)
Ontario
Research Priorities
Repair/Remyelination
Impact Goal(s)
Understand and Halt Disease Progression

Researcher(s):  Dr. Samira Ghorbani

Summary:  

  • The brain’s capacity to repair damaged myelin becomes less effective with age in people with MS, contributing to disease progression. 

  • Dr. Samira Ghorbanigazar and team are investigating whether telomere shortening, a natural process of aging, reduces the ability of cells to produce and repair myelin. 

  • This research will shed new insights as to why myelin repair declines with age in people with MS, which could lead to new strategies to restore myelin and slow the progression of MS.  

Project Description:  

In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the protective covering around nerve fibres, leading to nerve damage. The brain can repair some of the damaged myelin through special cells called oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), which mature into oligodendrocytes that produce new myelin. However, as people age this repair process becomes less effective contributing to MS disease progression. 

One possible reason for the decline in myelin repair may be the shortening of telomeres – the protective caps at the ends of our chromosomes where DNA is packaged. As part of the natural process of aging, telomeres get shorter each time cells in our body divide and when they become too short, cells may stop working properly. 

Dr. Samira Ghorbanigazar and team will investigate whether telomere shortening in OPCs interferes with their ability to mature into oligodendrocytes and prevent myelin repair. To test this, they will speed up the process of telomere shortening in OPCs by removing a protein called telomerase reverse transcriptase which normally keeps telomeres long. 

Potential Impact: This research may uncover new mechanisms as to why myelin repair declines with age in people with MS, which could lead to new strategies to restore myelin, protect nerve function, and effectively slow progression in MS.

Project Status: In Progress