Blood platelets as a novel therapeutic target for MS

Summary

A number of processes occur in MS, including inflammation and neurodegeneration or nerve loss. While inflammation is reasonably well understood and treatable with current drugs, neurodegeneration is more complex, poorly understood and only responds to treatments in a very limited manner. Neurodegeneration is also thought to underlie progression of the disease. The burning question, therefore, is: what is the cause of nerve loss?

Recent scientific evidence shows that blood particles known as ‘platelets’ play an important role in autoimmune diseases such as MS. Platelets are small cell fragments that are important in blood clotting, but also have wider functions, including the capacity to exacerbate inflammation in laboratory models of MS.

Dr Orian’s own research has shown that the role of platelets goes even further and that these particles are actually key drivers of the autoimmune process and that platelets might be responsible for both inflammation and neurodegeneration. They suspect that platelets, rather than immune cells, cause nerve loss and that targeting platelets in early disease may slow down some of the degeneration of nerves in MS thereby potentially delaying progressive MS.

The overarching aim of this proposal is to demonstrate that platelet-targeting is both anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective in MS, using a novel platelet-targeting drug. This will provide proof-of-concept for the potential of platelet-targeting therapies to treat MS.

Updated 20 January 2021