Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). In Germany, more than 280,000 people are affected. In most cases, MS progresses in relapses, which occur completely irregularly as excessive inflammatory reactions in the spinal cord and brain. In the process, misdirected immune cells destroy the protective myelin sheaths of the nerve fibers and thus damage the nerves.
and constantly look for signs of injury or infection. If there is a problem, the microglial cells are activated and release cytokines and other signaling molecules.such as T and B cells, which normally reside outside the brain. The body's own sugar compound polysialic acid plays a crucial role in the activation of microglia."The microglia has an immune receptor called Siglec-E that recognizes polysialic acid," explains biochemist Dr. Hauke Thiesler.
This regulatory mechanism can apparently also be controlled from outside. By externally adding polysialic acid to cultures with living tissue sections, the researchers were able to show that previously destroyed myelin sheaths were almost completely renewed as a result of an anti-inflammatory effect of polysialic acid on the microglia.
Because the destruction of the myelin sheaths and nerve cells has serious consequences that can affect all brain andfunctions—but mainly the ability to move and coordinate, the sense of touch and the ability to see. For a large proportion of patients, multiple sclerosis brings severe disabilities. "Activating the self-healing powers in the brain would be a promising support in MS therapy, which currently focuses exclusively on the immune system outside," says Dr. Lara-Jasmin Schröder from the Department of Neurology with Clinical Neurophysiology."Those affected are usually 20 to 40 years old when clinical symptoms of MS first appear," says the medical biologist.
And because the mechanism generally reduces inflammatory activity, the procedure could also be interesting for other neurodegenerative diseases, the biochemist suspects. Next, the research team would like to test the results in theLara-Jasmin Schröder et al, Polysialic acid promotes remyelination in cerebellar slice cultures by Siglec-E-dependent modulation of microglia polarization,
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