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Multiple Sclerosis Research GroupProfessor Claude Bernard DES (Sorbonne), Msc (Montr), DSc (Stras)Group Leader
Postal Lab MembersResearch FellowsMs Daniella Herszfeld, MSc Research AssistantsMs Aude Sylvain Postgraduate studentsMs Sally Caine, BSc Hons
Research OverviewMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) with significant human and community costs. Although the precise trigger(s) remain elusive, the ultimate end point of the disease is the destruction of nerve axons and myelin, two key cellular components of the CNS involved in the conduction of nerve impulses. As a consequence patients with MS suffer from numerous neurological problems. At present, there is no cure for this severe neurodegenerative condition. Although, immune therapy is beneficial to a proportion of patients, others do not respond to any currently available therapies. A rational approach to the treatment and cure of autoimmune diseases such as MS requires incorporation of three fundamental processes: suppression of the inflammatory response, regeneration of the target cells or tissues and restoration of self tolerance, where by damaging white blood cells can be purged or silence. Current clinical practice at best addresses the first problem but there are no clear strategies for the later two. The major research aim of the laboratory is two fold: understand the pathophysiology of MS and develop new cell-based and gene therapy treatments that may offer alternatives to current therapeutics for this devastating neurological disorder. Our group focuses on research that combines the rapidly evolving multi-potential applications of stem cells with our unique technology platforms that bridge immunology, autoimmunity and stem cell research. More specifically we aim at reversing the autoimmune process involved in an MS model in mice (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis-EAE). We are also studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which myelin damage and axonal degeneration occur in EAE and MS. As part of this research we are using novel and powerful new techniques, such as focal plane array infrared imaging and infrared synchrotron microspectroscopy that detect very small chemicals changes that occur in the CNS. Download: Multiple Sclerosis Research Group (pdf, 102kb) Recent PublicationsShort M, Campanale N, Litwak S, Bernard CC. Quantitative and phenotypic analysis of bone marrow-derived cells in the intact and inflamed central nervous system. Cell Adhesion and Migration. (2011) 5:5 In press Courtney McDonald, Christopher Siatskas and Claude C.A. Bernard. The emergence of amnion epithelial stem cells for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. Inflammation and Regeneration, (2011). 31: 256-271. Menon KN, Steer DL, Short M, Petratos S, Smith I, Bernard CC. A novel unbiased approach to detect the reactivity of cerebrospinal fluid in neurological diseases. Mol Cell Proteomics. (2011) 10(6):M110,000042. Epub 2011 Mar 18 Payne N, Siatskas C, Barnard A, Bernard CC. The prospect of stem cells as multi-faceted purveyors of immune modulation, repair and regeneration in multiple sclerosis. Curr Stem Cell Res Ther. (2011) 6(1): 50-62 Bi Song, Maliha A. Alikhan, Samy Sakkal, Jonathan C. Niclis, Aude Sylvain, Peter G. Kerr, Andrew L. Laslett, Claude C. A. Bernard and Sharon D. Ricardo. Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from human kidney mesangial cells. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. (2011). In press Jianmei Ma, Kenji F. Tanaka, Takahiro Shimizu, Claude C.A. Bernard, Akiyoshi Kakita, Hitoshi Takahashi, Steven E. Pfeiffer, Kazuhiro Ikenaka, Microglial cystatin F expression is a sensitive indicator for ongoing demyelination and active remyelination. Journal of Neuroscience Research. (2011) 89: 639-349. Laborde E, Macsata RW, Meng F, Peterson BT, Robinson L, Schow SR, Simon RJ, Xu H, Baba K, Inagaki H, Ishiwata Y, Jomori T, Matsumoto Y, Miyachi A, Nakamura T, Okamoto M, Handel TM, Bernard CC. Discovery, optimization, and pharacological characterization of novel hereroaroylphenlureas antagonists of C-C Chemokine Ligand 2 function. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. (2011) 54: 1667- 1681. Krishnakumar N Menon, David L. Steer, Martin Short, Steven Petratos, Ian Smith and Claude C.A. Bernard. A novel unbiased proteomic approach to detect the reactivity of cerebrospinal fluid in neurological diseases. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. (2011) In Press : March 18,2011,doi:10.1074/mpcM110.00042. Payne, N., Siatskas, C. Barnard, A. and C. C.A. Bernard. Stem cells as multi-faceted purveyors of immune modulation, repair and regeneration in multiple sclerosis. Current Stem Cell Research and Therapy. 2011; 6:50-62. Christopher Siatskas, Natalie L. Payne, Martin A. Short, Claude C. A. Bernard. (2010). A consensus statement addressing mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for multiple sclerosis: It's time! Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. (2010) 6:500-506 Steven Petratos, Michael Azari, Ezgi Ozturk, Roula Papadopoulos, Claude C.A. Bernard. Novel Therapeutic Targets for Axonal Degeneration in Multiple Sclerosis. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol (2010) 69:323-334 Martin S Weber, Thomas Prod'homme, Juan C Patarroyo, Nicolas Molnarfi, Tara Karnezis, Klaus Lehmann-Horn, Dimitry M Danilenko, Jefferey Eastham-Anderson, Anthony Slavin, Christopher Linington, Claude C.A. Bernard, Flavius Martin and Scott Zanvil. B-cell activation influences T-cell polarization and outcome of anti-CD20 B-cell depletion in central nervous system autoimmunity. Annals of Neurology. (2010) 68:369-383. Chris Siatskas and Claude C.A. Bernard, Stem cell and gene therapeutic strategies for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Current Molecular Medicine. 2010; 9: 992-1016 Sushmita Sinha, Sandhya Subramanian, Ashley Emerson-Webber, Maren Lindner ,Gregory G. Burrows , Marjorie Grafe , Christopher Linington , Arthur A. Vandenbark, Claude C. A. Bernard and Halina Offner. Recombinant TCR ligand reverses clinical signs and CNS damage of EAE induced by recombinant human MOG. J. Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2010; 5: 231-239. Philip Heraud, Sally Caine, Naomi Campanale, Tara Karnezis, Mark J. Tobin, Donald McNaughton, Bayden R. Wood and Claude C.A. Bernard. Early detection of biomolecular, structural and pathological changes in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. NeuroImage. 2010; 49: 1180-1189. Kun Zhou, David Nisbet, George Thouas, Claude C.A Bernard and John Forsythe. Bio-nanotechnology Approaches to Neural Tissue Engineering. Tissue Engineering Book. In-TECH Publisher. Austria. (2010). Research Support
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