Early research shows antibody stimulates remyelination
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. have found that a human antibody administered in a single low dose in mouse models of MS can repair myelin, the protective coating surrounding nerve fibres which is damaged in people with MS.
In MS the immune system mis-fires and recognises the body’s own tissue as foreign and myelin and subsequently, nerve fibres are damaged and destroyed. In the early stages of the condition myelin can be repaired, however as MS progresses remyelination fails and full function is never regained.
This study uses a mouse model of MS to measure both the severity of the condition and the success of the treatment by how active the mice were. The antibody used in the treatment binds to myelin and the surface of cells in the brain and spinal cord before triggering the repair process, called remyelination. The antibody, called rHIgM22, has been shown by MRI to enter the central nervous system and accumulate in areas of damage. The mice received a single dose of the antibody in order to trigger remyelination. Five weeks after the single dose the myelin repair process plateaued, after this point another dose of the antibody made no difference to the extent of remyelination. The basis of how the antibody promotes remyelination remains unclear.
This kind of laboratory research needs to be confirmed before it can be translated into a treatment and extensively tested in humans in clinical trials to make sure that what works in the lab works in people, and that the method is both safe and effective.
In terms of working towards replicating the findings in humans, the researchers have conducted preliminary experiments in mice showing that 1000 times the therapeutic dose is not toxic. This information will be updated as the study progresses.
This study uses a mouse model of MS to measure both the severity of the condition and the success of the treatment by how active the mice were. The antibody used in the treatment binds to myelin and the surface of cells in the brain and spinal cord before triggering the repair process, called remyelination. The antibody, called rHIgM22, has been shown by MRI to enter the central nervous system and accumulate in areas of damage. The mice received a single dose of the antibody in order to trigger remyelination. Five weeks after the single dose the myelin repair process plateaued, after this point another dose of the antibody made no difference to the extent of remyelination. The basis of how the antibody promotes remyelination remains unclear.
This kind of laboratory research needs to be confirmed before it can be translated into a treatment and extensively tested in humans in clinical trials to make sure that what works in the lab works in people, and that the method is both safe and effective.
In terms of working towards replicating the findings in humans, the researchers have conducted preliminary experiments in mice showing that 1000 times the therapeutic dose is not toxic. This information will be updated as the study progresses.
