We aim to show that we can effectively boost remyelination in human stem cell-derived oligodrendrocytes, which will be crucial to the development of a novel remyelinating therapy.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a devastating disease that affects the isolation layer of nerve cells. This hampers efficient communication between nerve cells, which causes a wide array of symptoms, including vision problems, motor and cognitive deficits. Initially, periodes of symptoms are followed by spontaneous recovery. However, a substantial part of the MS population evolves towards a progressive stage in which no recovery occurs anymore. We have now identified a target that can induce recovery in animal models of progressive MS. With the support of the Charcot Foundation, we will study whether this is also the case in human stem cells, an important step towards human translation of our findings.