Project R-7192

The unexplored role of interleukin-24 in multiple sclerosis (Research)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the brain and spinal cord. Currently, over 2 million people worldwide suffer from this disease, with women having 50% more chance of developing MS than men. The average age of disease onset is around 30 years, so MS typically presents itself as a disease of young adults. Symptoms of MS include visual problems, muscle weakness, fatigue, and even emotional and cognitive disturbances. In the central nervous system, the blood brain barrier (BBB) normally limits the infiltration of immune cells. In MS however, immune cells invade the brain and attack and damage important brain cells. This in turn leads to a dysfunction in the conductance of brain signals, causing the well-known MS symptoms. Many inflammatory molecules are being produced by both immune and brain cells during the course of MS. One family of inflammatory molecules are cytokines. These molecules act as messengers from one cell to another, leading to propagation of the immune response ongoing in MS patients, but also directly affecting BBB permeability . In this project, I study a cytokine called interleukin (IL)-24, which has not been studied yet in the context of MS. I hypothesize that IL-24 amplifies the immune response in MS patients by promoting inflammation and enhancing BBB permeability. This research will provide novel fundamental knowledge about the role of IL-24 in MS pathogenesis, and provide a potential new therapeutic target.

01 October 2016 - 31 January 2019