Bioinformatics and cell reprogramming to develop an in vitro platform to discover new drugs for progressive multiple sclerosis (BRAVEinMS)

Project Summary:

The goal of scientists working in the MS field is to speed up the understanding of nervous system degeneration occurring during the progressive and irreversible phase of the disease. This project will combine the bioinformatics and neuroscientific expertise of six laboratories (located in Europe, Canada and the U.S.) with the aim of identifying molecules that might have a therapeutic protective role on neurons and/or the capacity of favoring the proliferation of myelinating cells in order to save neurons left “naked” when the surrounding protective damaged myelin disappeared.

The collaborating laboratories will align protocols to generate controlled, stable and mature neural cells, while combining network-based analyses with in-vitro pharmacological testing, and functional and pharmacological databases in order to screen compounds with possible remyelinating and neuroprotective potential. The collaborative model, which benefits from from using novel bioinformatics and biological tools along with human neural cells (as opposed to rodent-derived cells) will more rapidly advance knowledge on the mechanisms underlying the progression of MS and more quickly identify new therapeutic drugs to enter human clinical trials.