Journal
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS JOURNAL
Volume 21, Issue 1, Pages 8-21Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/1352458514561911
Keywords
Multiple sclerosis; Charcot Lecture
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01 NS049477, 1U19A1067152]
- National Multiple Sclerosis Society [RG 2899-D11]
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES [U19AI067152] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE [R01NS049477] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Autoimmune B cells play a major role in mediating tissue damage in multiple sclerosis (MS). In MS, B cells are believed to cross the blood-brain barrier and undergo stimulation, antigen-driven affinity maturation and clonal expansion within the supportive CNS environment. These highly restricted populations of clonally expanded B cells and plasma cells can be detected in MS lesions, in cerebrospinal fluid, and also in peripheral blood. In phase II trials in relapsing MS, monoclonal antibodies that target circulating CD20-positive B lymphocytes dramatically reduced disease activity. These beneficial effects occurred within weeks of treatment, indicating that a direct effect on B cellsand likely not on putative autoantibodieswas responsible. The discovery that depletion of B cells has an impact on MS biology enabled a paradigm shift in understanding how the inflammatory phase of MS develops, and will hopefully lead to development of increasingly selective therapies against culprit B cells and related humoral immune system pathways. More broadly, these studies illustrate how lessons learned from the bedside have unique power to inform translational research. They highlight the essential role of clinician scientists, currently endangered, who navigate the rocky and often unpredictable terrain between the worlds of clinical medicine and biomedical research.
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