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Sweden, November 12, 2018: The mapping of a certain group of cells, called oligodendrocytes, in the central nervous system of a murine model of multiple sclerosis (MS) shows that they could play a role important in the development of the disease. Discovery can lead to new therapies targeting areas other than the immune system. The results were published in Nature Medicine by researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden

2.5 million people worldwide have multiple sclerosis, with about 18,000 people in Sweden and about 1,000 new cases each year. Multiple sclerosis develops when the white blood cells of the immune system attack the insulating fat called myelin that covers the nerve fibers of the central nervous system. This interferes with the correct transmission of electrical nerve signals and causes the symptoms of the disease. While it is not known why the immune system attacks myelin, a study by researchers at the Karolinska Institutet showed that myelin-producing cells, the oligodendrocytes, could play an unexpected role. Oligodendrocytes are one of the most common cell types in the brain and spinal cord.

"Our study offers a new perspective on the emergence and evolution of multiple sclerosis," says Gonçalo Castelo-Branco, badociate professor in the department of biochemistry and medical biophysics at the Karolinska Institutet. "The current treatments are mainly aimed at inhibiting the immune system. But we can now show that the target cells of the immune system in the brain and spinal cord, the oligodendrocytes, acquire new properties during the disease and could have a greater impact on the disease than previously thought. before. "

subgroup of oligodendrocytes and their progenitor cells have much in common with immune cells, in a murine model of SP.Other properties, they can participate in the elimination of the myelin is damaged by the disease, in the image of immune cell function Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells can also communicate with immune cells and cause them to modify their behavior.

"We also find that some genes identified as Multiple sclerosis leaders are active (expressed) in oligodendrocytes and their progenitors, "says Ana Mendanha Falcão, co-first author of the study with David van Bruggen, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics of Karolinska Institutet.

"Overall, this suggests that these cells have an important role to play in the onset or process of the disease, "says David van Bruggen.

The study was conducted using the recently developed technique, single-cell RNA sequencing, which provides scientists with a snapshot of the genetic activity of individual cells. and, therefore, a much more efficient way to differentiate the properties of the individual cells. This allowed researchers to identify the different roles and functions of different cells.

Although the study was conducted largely on mice, some of the results were also observed in human samples.

"We are now continuing with other studies to determine the role played by oligodendrocytes and their progenitor cells in MS," said Gonçalo Castelo-Branco. "Additional knowledge may eventually pave the way for the development of new treatments for the disease."