scholarly journals Dissection of multiple sclerosis genetics identifies B and CD4 T cells as driver cell subsets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Guo ◽  
Prashanth Sama ◽  
Brenna LaBarre ◽  
Hrishikesh Lokhande ◽  
John Balibalos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Chromatin Accessibility ◽  
Chromatin Interactions ◽  
New Genes ◽  
Causal Genes ◽  
Autoimmune Condition ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Peripheral Immune Cells

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune condition of the central nervous system with a well-characterized genetic background. Prior analyses of MS genetics have identified broad enrichments across peripheral immune cells, yet the driver immune subsets are unclear. We utilized chromatin accessibility data across hematopoietic cells to identify cell type-specific enrichments of MS genetic signals. We found that CD4 T and B cells were independently enriched for MS genetics and further refined the driver subsets to Th17 and memory B cells, respectively. We replicated our findings in data from untreated and treated MS patients and found that immunomodulatory treatments suppress chromatin accessibility at driver cell types. Integration of statistical fine-mapping and chromatin interactions nominated numerous putative causal genes, illustrating complex interplay between shared and cell-specific genes. Our study highlights how careful integration of genetics and epigenetics can provide fine-scale insights into causal cell types and nominate new genes and pathways for disease.

scholarly journals Functional immune cell–astrocyte interactions

2021 ◽  
Vol 218 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana M. Sanmarco ◽  
Carolina M. Polonio ◽  
Michael A. Wheeler ◽  
Francisco J. Quintana
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Peripheral Immune Cells

Astrocytes are abundant glial cells in the central nervous system (CNS) that control multiple aspects of health and disease. Through their interactions with components of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), astrocytes not only regulate BBB function, they also sense molecules produced by peripheral immune cells, including cytokines. Here, we review the interactions between immune cells and astrocytes and their roles in health and neurological diseases, with a special focus on multiple sclerosis (MS). We highlight known pathways that participate in astrocyte crosstalk with microglia, NK cells, T cells, and other cell types; their contribution to the pathogenesis of neurological diseases; and their potential value as therapeutic targets.

scholarly journals Made to Measure: Patient-Tailored Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Using Cell-Based Therapies

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 7536
Author(s):  
Inez Wens ◽  
Ibo Janssens ◽  
Judith Derdelinckx ◽  
Megha Meena ◽  
Barbara Willekens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Autoimmune Diseases ◽  
Stromal Cells ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽  
Tailored Treatment ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Currently, there is still no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), which is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. Treatment options predominantly consist of drugs that affect adaptive immunity and lead to a reduction of the inflammatory disease activity. A broad range of possible cell-based therapeutic options are being explored in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including MS. This review aims to provide an overview of recent and future advances in the development of cell-based treatment options for the induction of tolerance in MS. Here, we will focus on haematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stromal cells, regulatory T cells and dendritic cells. We will also focus on less familiar cell types that are used in cell therapy, including B cells, natural killer cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We will address key issues regarding the depicted therapies and highlight the major challenges that lie ahead to successfully reverse autoimmune diseases, such as MS, while minimising the side effects. Although cell-based therapies are well known and used in the treatment of several cancers, cell-based treatment options hold promise for the future treatment of autoimmune diseases in general, and MS in particular.

scholarly journals Potential Role of Trace Elements (Al, Cu, Zn, and Se) in Multiple Sclerosis Physiopathology

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 163-177
Author(s):  
Mohammad Sadegh Hesamian ◽  
Nahid Eskandari
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Trace Elements ◽  
Plasma Cells ◽  
Peripheral Tolerance ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Tolerance Breakdown ◽  
Peripheral Immune Cells

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. The cause of MS is not known completely, and pathology is specified by involved demyelinated areas in the white and gray matter of the brain and spinal cord. Inflammation and peripheral tolerance breakdown due to Treg cell defects and/or effector cell resistance are present at all stages of the disease. Several invading peripheral immune cells are included in the process of the disease such as macrophages, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, B cells, and plasma cells. Trace elements are known as elements found in soil, plants, and living organisms in small quantities. Some of them (e.g., Al, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Se) are essential for the body’s functions like catalysts in enzyme systems, energy metabolism, etc. Al toxicity and Cu, Zn, and Se toxicity and deficiency can affect the immune system and following neuron inflammation and degeneration. These processes may result in MS pathology. Of course, factors such as lifestyle, environment, and industrialization can affect levels of trace elements in the human body.

scholarly journals The STING-IFN-β-Dependent Axis Is Markedly Low in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 9249
Author(s):  
Lars Masanneck ◽  
Susann Eichler ◽  
Anna Vogelsang ◽  
Melanie Korsen ◽  
Heinz Wiendl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Type I ◽  
Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Endogenous Production ◽  
Relapsing Remitting ◽  
Peripheral Lymphoid Tissue ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Peripheral Immune Cells ◽  
Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Cyclic GMP-AMP-synthase is a sensor of endogenous nucleic acids, which subsequently elicits a stimulator of interferon genes (STING)-dependent type I interferon (IFN) response defending us against viruses and other intracellular pathogens. This pathway can drive pathological inflammation, as documented for type I interferonopathies. In contrast, specific STING activation and subsequent IFN-β release have shown beneficial effects on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as a model for multiple sclerosis (MS). Although less severe cases of relapse-remitting MS (RRMS) are treated with IFN-β, there is little information correlating aberrant type I IFN signaling and the pathologic conditions of MS. We hypothesized that there is a link between STING activation and the endogenous production of IFN-β during neuroinflammation. Gene expression analysis in EAE mice showed that Sting level decreased in the peripheral lymphoid tissue, while its level increased within the central nervous system over the course of the disease. Similar patterns could be verified in peripheral immune cells during the acute phases of RRMS in comparison to remitting phases and appropriately matched healthy controls. Our study is the first to provide evidence that the STING/IFN-β-axis is downregulated in RRMS patients, meriting further intensified research to understand its role in the pathophysiology of MS and potential translational applications.

scholarly journals Multiple sclerosis genomic map implicates peripheral immune cells and microglia in susceptibility

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6460) ◽  
pp. eaav7188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Human Microglia ◽  
Histocompatibility Complex ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Reference Map ◽  
Peripheral Immune Cells ◽  
Genomic Map ◽  
Cellular Components

We analyzed genetic data of 47,429 multiple sclerosis (MS) and 68,374 control subjects and established a reference map of the genetic architecture of MS that includes 200 autosomal susceptibility variants outside the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), one chromosome X variant, and 32 variants within the extended MHC. We used an ensemble of methods to prioritize 551 putative susceptibility genes that implicate multiple innate and adaptive pathways distributed across the cellular components of the immune system. Using expression profiles from purified human microglia, we observed enrichment for MS genes in these brain-resident immune cells, suggesting that these may have a role in targeting an autoimmune process to the central nervous system, although MS is most likely initially triggered by perturbation of peripheral immune responses.

scholarly journals Potential Impact of B Cells on T Cell Function in Multiple Sclerosis

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Ireland ◽  
Nancy Monson
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Anti Cd20 ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ms Pathogenesis

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic debilitating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. The contribution of B cells in the pathoetiology of MS has recently been highlighted by the emergence of rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody that specifically depletes B cells, as a potent immunomodulatory therapy for the treatment of MS. However, a clearer understanding of the impact B cells have on the neuro-inflammatory component of MS pathogenesis is needed in order to develop novel therapeutics whose affects on B cells would be beneficial and not harmful. Since T cells are known mediators of the pathology of MS, the goal of this review is to summarize what is known about the interactions between B cells and T cells, and how current and emerging immunotherapies may impact B-T cell interactions in MS.

scholarly journals Sphingosine-1-Phosphate: Its Pharmacological Regulation and the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis: A Review Article

Biomedicines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 227
Author(s):  
Stanley Cohan ◽  
Elisabeth Lucassen ◽  
Kyle Smoot ◽  
Justine Brink ◽  
Chiayi Chen
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
Pharmacological Agents ◽  
Inflammatory Damage ◽  
Sphingosine 1 Phosphate ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Lymphocyte Egress

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), via its G-protein-coupled receptors, is a signaling molecule with important regulatory properties on numerous, widely varied cell types. Five S1P receptors (S1PR1-5) have been identified, each with effects determined by their unique G-protein-driven downstream pathways. The discovery that lymphocyte egress from peripheral lymphoid organs is promoted by S1P via S1PR-1 stimulation led to the development of pharmacological agents which are S1PR antagonists. These agents promote lymphocyte sequestration and reduce lymphocyte-driven inflammatory damage of the central nervous system (CNS) in animal models, encouraging their examination of efficacy in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Preclinical research has also demonstrated direct protective effects of S1PR antagonists within the CNS, by modulation of S1PRs, particularly S1PR-1 and S1PR-5, and possibly S1PR-2, independent of effects upon lymphocytes. Three of these agents, fingolimod, siponimod and ozanimod have been approved, and ponesimod has been submitted for regulatory approval. In patients with MS, these agents reduce relapse risk, sustained disability progression, magnetic resonance imaging markers of disease activity, and whole brain and/or cortical and deep gray matter atrophy. Future opportunities in the development of more selective and intracellular S1PR-driven downstream pathway modulators may expand the breadth of agents to treat MS.

scholarly journals Impact of Exercise on Immunometabolism in Multiple Sclerosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 3038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remsha Afzal ◽  
Jennifer K Dowling ◽  
Claire E McCoy
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Therapeutic Benefits ◽  
Demyelinating Lesions ◽  
Inflammatory State ◽  
Autoimmune Condition ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Axonal Degradation

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, autoimmune condition characterized by demyelinating lesions and axonal degradation. Even though the cause of MS is heterogeneous, it is known that peripheral immune invasion in the central nervous system (CNS) drives pathology at least in the most common form of MS, relapse-remitting MS (RRMS). The more progressive forms’ mechanisms of action remain more elusive yet an innate immune dysfunction combined with neurodegeneration are likely drivers. Recently, increasing studies have focused on the influence of metabolism in regulating immune cell function. In this regard, exercise has long been known to regulate metabolism, and has emerged as a promising therapy for management of autoimmune disorders. Hence, in this review, we inspect the role of key immunometabolic pathways specifically dysregulated in MS and highlight potential therapeutic benefits of exercise in modulating those pathways to harness an anti-inflammatory state. Finally, we touch upon current challenges and future directions for the field of exercise and immunometabolism in MS.

scholarly journals Selective Targeting of T and B Cell Populations by Alemtuzumab in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Nikolaos C Grigoriadis ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
T Cells ◽  
B Cells ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Tolerability Profile ◽  
T And B Cells ◽  
Brain Volume Loss ◽  
Inflammatory Phenotype ◽  
B Cell Subsets

Upstream targeting of both T and B cells is a rational therapeutic approach in multiple sclerosis (MS) in view of how both cell types and the interaction between them contribute to MS pathophysiology. This article will discuss this new way of thinking in MS: the targeting of both T and B cells, with a focus on the recently developed therapy, alemtuzumab (Lemtrada®, Genzyme, UK). Alemtuzumab depletes T and B lymphocytes, mainly via complement-dependent cytolysis and antibody-dependent cytolysis; depletion of B cells is not an enduring effect compared with the depletion of T cells. After dosing, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and CD19 B cells decrease initially but increase over the following 11 months. During repopulation after alemtuzumab treatment, there is a shift in the relative proportions of T cell and B cell subsets whereby proportions of regulatory T cells and memory-phenotype T cells are increased and the proportion of naive T cells is decreased. A switch from a pro- to an anti-inflammatory phenotype and cytokine profile caused by alemtuzumab may underpin the long-lasting suppression of MS activity that has been observed in clinical trials. Alemtuzumab treatment is also associated with a consistently good safety and tolerability profile. Further, alemtuzumab appears to promote neurorehabilitation by improving measures of physical functioning, disability, measures of quality of life, and brain volume loss. Alemtuzumab therefore has the potential to reduce disease burden and improve substantially the prognosis for patients with MS.

scholarly journals Disrupted microglial iron homeostasis in progressive multiple sclerosis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitry Ofengeim ◽  
Jonathan D Proto ◽  
Mindy Zhang ◽  
Sean Ryan ◽  
Xinting Yao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Iron Homeostasis ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Progressive Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Post Mortem Brain ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Single Nucleus ◽  
Multiple Cell ◽  
Chronic Autoimmune Disease

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS). Despite therapies that reduce relapses, many patients eventually develop secondary progressive MS (SPMS), characterized by ongoing and irreversible neurodegeneration and worsening clinical symptoms. Microglia are the resident innate immune cells of the CNS. While the cellular and molecular determinants of disability progression in MS remain incompletely understood, they are thought to include non resolving microglial activation and chronic oxidative injury. In this study, our aim was to better characterize microglia in SPMS tissues to identify disease-related changes at the single cell level. We performed single nucleus RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) on cryopreserved post-mortem brain cortex and identified disease associated changes in multiple cell types and in particular distinct SPMS enriched microglia subsets. When compared to the cluster most enriched in healthy controls (i.e. homeostatic microglia), we found a number of SPMS-enriched clusters with transcriptional profiles reflecting increased oxidative stress and perturbed iron homeostasis. Using histology and RNA-scope, we confirmed the presence of iron accumulating, ferritin-light chain (FTL)-expressing microglia in situ. Among disease-enriched clusters, we found evidence for divergent responses to iron accumulation and identified the antioxidant enzyme GPX as a key fate determinant. These data help elucidate processes that occur in progressive MS brains, and highlight novel nodes for therapeutic intervention.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document