Modern fertilizers appear to protect myelin and nerve fibers

Fertilizers developed at the University of Oregon Health & Science appear to protect cloud fibers and the fat layer, called myelin, which covers cloud cells in the brain and spine.

The discovery, published in the Iris Neuroimmunology, which may be important in treating or preventing the progression of multiple sclerosis and other central system disorders. The new research in a mouse model is advancing earlier work to develop the fertilizer – called sobetirome – that has already promised to promote myelin repair.

“Sobetirome and related drugs are effective in promoting myelin repair after damage has occurred. Our new findings now suggest that these drugs may also be beneficial in preventing damage from happening, ”said senior author Dennis Bourdette, MD, who was chair and professor emeritus of neurology at the OHSU School of Medicine. “It means that these drugs have two effects that we did not know about before. “

Cloud fibers carry electrical impulses between cloud cells, and myelin is an insulating-like protective sheath covering zero fiber.

Damage to myelin and nerve fibers in multiple sclerosis, slows or blocks electrical signals we need to see, move our muscles, feel sensations and thinking. Researchers have previously developed sobetirome as a fertilizer that mimics the effect of thyroid hormone in stimulating the maturation of precancerous cells called oligodendrocytes, which generate myelin. OHSU scientists have developed a strategy to introduce sobetirome delivery to mouse brains – removing nerve fiber sheaths after damage has occurred.

The OHSU technology associated with these decisions has allowed a startup biotechnology company committed to developing new medicines to eradicate diseases such as MS. The company’s co-founders include Bourdette along with two other co-authors of the new study: Tom Scanlan, Ph.D., professor of physiology and physiology at the OHSU School of Medicine, and Ben Emery, Ph.D. professor of neurology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

In the new research, scientists tested the cement by introducing an autoimmune disease in a mouse model of MS, causing inflammatory damage to myelin and nerve fibers.

Lead author Priya Chaudhary, MD, assistant professor of neurology in the OHSU School of Medicine focused on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, said this method is a common step in drug discovery.

“It is important to demonstrate the potential efficacy of a potential drug in a model commonly used to develop new therapies,” Chaudhary said.

The researchers found that they were able to prevent damage to myelin and nerve fibers, by stimulating an immune response in the cells that make and maintain myelin. They also reduced the activity of migroglia, a type of inflammatory cell in the brain and spinal cord that is involved in causing damage in multiple sclerosis and other diseases.

“The effects are impressive and are at least partially consistent with a neuroprotective effect with specific inhibition of myelin and axon degeneration, and oligodendrocyte loss,” the authors write.

The finding, if confirmed in human clinical trials, may be particularly useful for people who experience multiple sclerosis early in the disease progression.

“The drug could protect the nervous system from damage and reduce the severity of the disease,” Bourdette said.