Project R-5582

FWO travel grant to Bieke Broux for a long stay at the University of Montreal under her postdoctoral research (Research)

Since TH17 cells are believed to be crucial for MS pathogenesis, targeting these cells might lead to a very specific and efficient treatment for the disease. Preliminary results from proteomic studies revealed that TH17 cells express several members of the ephrin/Eph system. Ephrins interact with their complementary receptors (Ephs) via cell-cell contact, and these complexes are involved in a variety of biological processes including neural development, vasculogenesis/angiogenesis, carcinogenesis, epithelial development, T cell regulation and leukocyte extravasation. Also, some members of the ephrin/Eph system have been identified in MS lesions on infiltrating immune cells, astrocytes and neurons, but their role in the pathogenesis of MS has not been studied yet. I hypothesize that the ephrin/Eph receptor tyrosine kinase system is crucial for the activation, pathogenicity and recruitment of TH17 cells to the CNS and that blocking this system has potential therapeutic effect.

13 September 2013 - 12 September 2015