杏吧直播

MS 杏吧直播 has recognised the work of 杏吧直播 of Adelaide鈥檚 Dr Iain Comerford with a $25,000 Incubator Grant.

Dr Comerford, of the School of Biological Sciences, and his team are investigating how immune cells interact in the hope of discovering a new treatment for people with Multiple Sclerosis.

More than 2.8 million people across the world, about 33,300 of which are 杏吧直播n, live with the disease.

鈥淢S is a chronic condition caused by harmful immune responses that attack the body鈥檚 own nerve cells and how these immune responses are controlled is still not fully understood,鈥� Dr Comerford said.

鈥淗owever, recent evidence suggests that certain immune cells, including neutrophils and T cells, play important roles in this process.鈥�

Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that typically help protect against infection, but in MS, they may contribute to nerve cell damage. T cells are another type of immune cell involved in coordinating the body鈥檚 immune response, and one type, called pathogenic Th17 cells, is known to contribute to MS.

鈥淲e are investigating how neutrophils interact with T cells in MS to drive inflammation in the brain and spinal cord,鈥� said Dr Comerford.

鈥淥ur preliminary findings in a model of MS suggest that neutrophils may prompt T cells to adopt a 鈥榩ro-inflammatory鈥� profile that worsens MS-related damage.

鈥淭his project will study the specific signals between neutrophils and T cells to better understand how this harmful interaction occurs.

鈥淏y identifying the molecules involved in neutrophil and T cell communication, we hope to reveal new therapeutic targets that could reduce inflammation in MS, potentially leading to treatments that limit immune cell damage and protect nerve cells in people with MS.鈥�