Gut-derived T cells

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. Our current research aims at understanding how CD4 T cells are promoting multiple sclerosis in human.
The clinical course of MS is highly diverse, yet most MS patients eventually present severe physical and cognitive disabilities. Several therapeutic options are available but no treatment completely stops the progression of the disease. Notably there is also no treatment effective for the patients with the most aggressive forms of MS. A deeper understanding of the mechanism of the disease progression is therefore essential to develop more efficient treatment strategies. Previous studies suggest that both genetic and environmental factors confer susceptibility to MS. While it is widely accepted that CD4 T cells play a key role in the formation of the lesions in the central nervous system, the nature and functions of the pathogenic CD4 T cells in MS remains largely uncharacterized.
We hypothesize that differences in the type and the functions of CD4 T cells might be associated to differences in the clinical course of MS. The main objective of our research is to define CD4 T cell pathogenicity in MS patients at different clinical stages.
We expect that our study will uncover new therapeutic approaches to treat MS patients, particularly those with the most aggressive forms of the disease.