News

An international team of researchers supported by the National MS Society, the International Progressive MS Alliance, and other funders report from mouse studies that they have uncovered biological interactions that may get us closer to understanding what triggers MS. The team is led by Francisco Quintana, PhD (Harvard Medical School), who is a Harry Weaver Scholar of the National MS Society and leads an Alliance Collaborative Network Award.

• The findings involve brain cells called astrocytes, and their internal responses that can lead to inflammation and nervous system damage such as what occurs in MS, and in particular, secondary progressive MS. The researchers add to growing evidence that metabolism (processes that break down materials to produce energy) and inflammation are linked. They found that the ability of astrocytes to metabolize a specific protein, sphingolipid, resulted in increased inflammatory activity.   
• By blocking specific cell activity in mice using the drug Miglustat, which is used to treat rare metabolic disorders, the team provided additional weight to the idea that these pathways may be involved in disease-causing dysfunctions underlying MS. The team suggests that Miglustat or similar compounds may hold promise for treating progressive MS.
• These findings also identify novel potential ways that viruses – which are considered candidates as possible triggers of MS – could affect the course of this disease.
• The paper, “Metabolic control of astrocyte pathogenic activity via cPLA2-MAVS,” by Drs. Francisco Quintana, Chun-Cheih Chao (Harvard Medical School) and collaborators, was published online on December 5,2019 in the journal Cell.