Online gift

Help us Make a gift or leave a legacy

Dr Inez Wens, Prof. Nathalie Cools and Mr Jasper Van den Bos

Engaging the immune system for remyelination in the brain of progressive MS patients, using BDNF-engineered regulatory T cells

Grant

€ 51,770 / 2 years
UAntwerpen

The aim of this project is to develop a cell-based therapy that induces regeneration in patients with multiple sclerosis. For this, specific immune cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs) will be engineered to overexpress a protein, Brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This protein plays, among others, an important role in the repair of the protective layer around nerve cells. Currently, we have already succeeded in developing these engineered Tregs, the next step is to determine the functionality and thus if these cells induce nerve repair. This will be done in specialized models to mimic the central nervous system environment as closely as possible.