Unlocking the Secrets of Multiple Sclerosis Progression: Brain-Immune Cell Communication

In honor of World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day, Cameron McAlpine, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Neuroscience at Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sina, discusses the latest research seeking to better understand the signals that interact with proteins. I heard about As a messenger between the brain and immune cells in MS.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your professional background.

I am Dr. Cameron McAlpine, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York City. He got his Ph.D. He completed his doctoral studies at McMaster University in Canada and received doctoral residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA. My lab studies brain inflammation and how the brain interacts with the immune system in neurodegenerative diseases.

Multiple sclerosis is a lifelong disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. What is the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis, and what has been known so far about the immune-mediated nature of the disease?

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. It is characterized by inflammatory lesions in the brain and spinal cord composed of immune cells that have migrated to these locations from the blood and other parts of the body. Both brain and immune cells are known to be important in the progression of multiple sclerosis, but how these cells communicate with each other is poorly understood.

What questions were you trying to answer about the pathways and proteins involved in this disease?

In MS, the roles of different brain cell and immune cell types have been extensively studied. However, it was not known how these cells talk and communicate with each other to coordinate function and biology. We sought to better understand the proteins and signals that act as messengers between brain and immune cells in MS.

Can you briefly describe how you conducted your research and your main findings?

We studied the brains of MS patients and used a mouse model of this disease. We found that an inflammatory protein called interleukin-3 (IL-3) was elevated in the brains of MS patients compared to healthy controls. Blocking IL-3 signaling in a mouse model of MS ameliorated clinical symptoms, inflammation, and spinal cord injury in mice. He then discovered that IL-3 is produced by brain and immune cells called astrocytes. T cells.

They also found that IL-3 signals or interacts with other brain and immune cells called microglia and macrophages, reprogramming them to become more inflammatory and exacerbate disease. Our research found that IL-3 is a key messenger between the brain and immune cells, exacerbating MS by causing inflammation.

Your research has identified IL-3 signaling as a potentially promising new therapeutic target. What does this mean for the future of MS treatment?

MS currently has no cure. Our data suggest that future studies should test whether blocking IL-3 signaling is an effective therapeutic strategy to reduce the clinical manifestations and pathology of MS.

IL-3 is also associated with multiple diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. What impact might your findings have on medical understanding and treatment of other diseases?

IL-3 has been found to play many roles in the brain. Our lab has previously shown that IL-3 plays a key role in Alzheimer’s disease and now reveals its function in MS. Further research is needed to fully understand how IL-3 and inflammation affect the brain and how IL-3 signaling can be modulated to ameliorate neurodegenerative diseases.

The theme of World MS Day 2020-3023 is Connectivity and aims to build community connectivity, self-connection and connectivity to quality care. As a researcher, how important is it to connect with the communities your research and discoveries directly affect?

Connecting with people and communities is very important for researchers and scientists. There are many exciting discoveries being made, and it is important to communicate and explain those findings to everyone affected by MS. The theme of ‘connection’ is particularly well suited to the research that is taking place in my lab. We study connections between cells and how cells communicate with each other. Understanding and facilitating connections from cells to communities is critical.

World MS Day aims to raise awareness for those affected by MS. What are some common misconceptions about MS, and what would you like people to understand more about the disease?

MS is a complex disease involving many cell types, organs and systems. It is important to study and understand how cells outside the brain, such as immune cells in the blood and other organs, contribute to disease. As part of that, we are studying how these cells and organs communicate and interact with each other.

What are your next goals for you and your research?

We continue to investigate the role of IL-3 in the brain. We are conducting further studies to test new therapeutics targeting IL-3 to treat MS and other diseases involving brain inflammation.

Where can readers find more information?

About Dr. Cameron McAlpine

I am an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Neuroscience and a Principal Investigator at the Cardiovascular Institute and the Friedman Brain Institute at Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai. My lab studies the relationship between the brain and the immune system in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. My lab is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Cure Fund, and the Alzheimer’s Association.