Oct 20, 2009
Exciting Research in the News!
RESEARCH AWARD INFORMATION
Colleen E Hayes, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI
Area: Wisconsin Chapter/Region D
Award: Research Grant
Term: 10/1/09-9/30/12
Funding: $ 485,469
Title: "Calcitriol synthesis and IL-10-dependent function in the central nervous system” Studying how vitamin D may influence MS-like disease to shed light on possible ways to prevent and treat human MS.
MS researchers have wondered why MS occurs less often in regions of the world where exposure to sunlight is high. There is evidence that vitamin D, which is made by cells in the skin in response to sunlight, and calcitriol, a hormone derived from vitamin D, may suppress the immune response involved in MS.
In this research project, Colleen Hayes, PhD, will study how vitamin D and calcitriol influence experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a disease similar to MS, in lab mice. In previous research, Dr. Hayes found that a pulse dose of calcitriol combined with vitamin D supplements induced a long-lasting remission of EAE. Now she has assembled collaborators from institutions in Wisconsin, Missouri, Oregon, Ohio and Canada to determine how calcitriol suppresses autoimmune activity in EAE. They plan to identify the cells in the central nervous system that produce calcitriol, how the calcitriol production is regulated, and whether calcitriol directly or indirectly controls the immune system cells producing the signaling molecule known as IL-10 to suppress EAE.
This work will provide important information about the activity of vitamin D and calcitriol and its interactions with the immune system and inflammation. The new insights from this work will help to inform investigators who are planning future clinical trials to determine whether vitamin D and/or calcitriol can benefit people with MS or prevent new cases of MS.