ScienceDaily
Your source for the latest research news
Follow Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Subscribe RSS Feeds Newsletters
New:
  • Black Death Shaped Evolution of Immunity Genes
  • Methane-Eating 'Borgs' Taking Earth's Microbes
  • Pain Relief Without Side Effects and Addiction
  • Accounting For Dark Energy and Dark Matter
  • Meet the First Neanderthal Family
  • Physicists Confirm Hitch in Proton Structure
  • Five Hours' Sleep a Night: Disease Risk
  • Energetics of Piercing Fangs and Claws
  • Hair Straightening Chemicals and Uterine Cancer
  • Ostriches With Similar Interests Form Groups
advertisement
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines!
Science News
from research organizations

1

2

Multiple sclerosis: Endogenous retrovirus HERV-W key to nerve tissue damage

Date:
June 27, 2019
Source:
Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf
Summary:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) affecting brain and spinal cord. Medical researchers have now discovered a new way in which nerve tissue is damaged by an endogenous retrovirus.
Share:
FULL STORY

Early disease stages of MS are primarily characterised by immune cell infiltration of the CNS. This causes inflammation that damages the so-called myelin sheaths. Myelin sheaths are electrically insulating structures established by specialised glial cells of the CNS, referred to as 'oligodendrocytes'. These structures protect, nourish and stabilise axons, which transmit electrical signals between neurons.

advertisement

There is a large therapeutic repertoire of immunomodulatory drugs available that can effectively target the inflammatory aspects of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). But when MS progresses, damage accumulates which ultimately results in irreversible deficits and clinical disability. Unfortunately, despite decades of intense research disease progression is still untreatable as there are no therapies available that either prevent damage or repair injured axons.

In a new study published online on June 18 in the journal PNAS a research team led by Prof. Dr. Patrick Küry from the Department of Neurology (chaired by Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Hartung) has shed light on a novel axon damage mechanism which could be highly relevant for progressive MS (PMS) patients.

As outlined by the first author of this research paper, Dr. David Kremer, the envelope (ENV) protein of the pathogenic human endogenous retrovirus type W (pHERV-W) was found to be a major contributor to nerve damage in MS. In collaboration with research teams in Cleveland (OH, USA) and Montreal (CAN) the authors demonstrated that the ENV protein drives CNS resident microglial cells to contact and damage myelinated axons.

Alongside the scientific research into determining how the damage mechanism works, clinical developments aiming at neutralising the harmful ENV protein in MS patients have also progressed. Two clinical studies conducted under the supervision of Prof. Hartung have already successfully tested the ENV-neutralising antibody temelimab. MRI scans of the participants treated in the study showed reduced damage to the nerve tissue.

The Düsseldorf-based researchers and their colleagues can therefore explain why neurodegeneration is decreased in patients treated with temelimab. This antibody specifically binds to the ENV protein of the retrovirus and blocks its activity in the CNS. As stated by Prof. Hartung, future clinical studies in progressive MS patients will now have to demonstrate whether temelimab treatment can also improve clinical symptoms resulting from neurodegeneration.

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

Materials provided by Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf. Original written by Dr. Arne Claussen. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. David Kremer, Joel Gruchot, Vivien Weyers, Lisa Oldemeier, Peter Göttle, Luke Healy, Jeong Ho Jang, Yu Kang T. Xu, Christina Volsko, Ranjan Dutta, Bruce D. Trapp, Hervé Perron, Hans-Peter Hartung, Patrick Küry. pHERV-W envelope protein fuels microglial cell-dependent damage of myelinated axons in multiple sclerosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201901283 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1901283116

Cite This Page:

  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf. "Multiple sclerosis: Endogenous retrovirus HERV-W key to nerve tissue damage." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 June 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190627114020.htm>.
Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf. (2019, June 27). Multiple sclerosis: Endogenous retrovirus HERV-W key to nerve tissue damage. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 20, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190627114020.htm
Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf. "Multiple sclerosis: Endogenous retrovirus HERV-W key to nerve tissue damage." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190627114020.htm (accessed October 20, 2022).

  • RELATED TOPICS
    • Health & Medicine
      • Nervous System
      • Multiple Sclerosis Research
      • Neuropathy
      • Alzheimer's Research
    • Mind & Brain
      • Brain Injury
      • Multiple Sclerosis
      • Depression
      • Schizophrenia
advertisement

  • RELATED TERMS
    • Multiple sclerosis
    • Central nervous system
    • Spinal cord
    • Glioma
    • Peripheral nervous system
    • Neuroscience
    • Nervous system
    • Excitotoxicity and cell damage
advertisement

  Print   Email   Share

advertisement

1

2

3

4

5
Most Popular
this week

HEALTH & MEDICINE
Eating Late Increases Hunger, Decreases Calories Burned, and Changes Fat Tissue
Clusters of Genes Help Mice Live Longer
Study of Over 5 Million People's DNA Reveals Genetic Links to Height
MIND & BRAIN
Dogs Can Smell When We're Stressed, Study Suggests
Human Brain Cells in a Dish Learn to Play Pong in Real Time
Healthy Aging Requires an Understanding of Personality Types
LIVING & WELL
Did the Pandemic Change Our Personalities?
Watching TV With Your Child Can Help Their Cognitive Development, Study Suggests
Coffee Drinking Is Associated With Increased Longevity
advertisement

Strange & Offbeat
 

HEALTH & MEDICINE
RNA Origami Enables Applications in Synthetic Biology
Unlocking the Power of Our Emotional Memory
Robotic Drug Capsule Can Deliver Drugs to Gut
MIND & BRAIN
Our Brains Use Quantum Computation
Human Brain Cells in a Dish Learn to Play Pong in Real Time
Dogs Can Smell When We're Stressed, Study Suggests
LIVING & WELL
Researchers Develop Painless Tattoos That Can Be Self-Administered
Washing Dishes With Superheated Steam More Effective, Earth-Friendly
News Addiction Linked to Not Only Poor Mental Wellbeing but Physical Health Too, New Study Shows
Explore More
from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES

Why MS Patients Develop Progressive Disability
July 19, 2021 — Did you know multiple sclerosis (MS) means multiple scars? New research shows that the brain and spinal cord scars in people with MS may offer clues to why they developprogressive disability but ...
Fatty Acid May Help Combat Multiple Sclerosis, Study Finds
Jan. 19, 2021 — The abnormal immune system response that causes multiple sclerosis (MS) by attacking and damaging the central nervous system can be triggered by the lack of a specific fatty acid in fat tissue, ...
Multiple Sclerosis: Accumulation of B Cells Triggers Nervous System Damage
Nov. 8, 2018 — B cells are important in helping the immune system fight pathogens. However, in the case of the neurological autoimmune disease Multiple sclerosis (MS) they can damage nerve tissue. When particular ...
Scientists Map Key Brain-to-Spinal Cord Nerve Connections for Voluntary Movement
May 2, 2018 — Researchers trying to help people suffering from paralysis after a spinal cord injury or stroke mapped critical brain-to-spinal cord nerve connections that drive voluntary movement in forelimbs, a ...
advertisement


SD
  • SD
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Home
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Health
    • View all the latest top news in the health sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Health & Medicine
      • Allergy
      • Alternative Medicine
      • Birth Control
      • Cancer
      • Diabetes
      • Diseases
      • Heart Disease
      • HIV and AIDS
      • Obesity
      • Stem Cells
      • ... more topics
      Mind & Brain
      • ADD and ADHD
      • Addiction
      • Alzheimer's
      • Autism
      • Depression
      • Headaches
      • Intelligence
      • Psychology
      • Relationships
      • Schizophrenia
      • ... more topics
      Living Well
      • Parenting
      • Pregnancy
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Care
      • Men's Health
      • Women's Health
      • Nutrition
      • Diet and Weight Loss
      • Fitness
      • Healthy Aging
      • ... more topics
  • Tech
    • View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology,
      or browse the topics below:
      Matter & Energy
      • Aviation
      • Chemistry
      • Electronics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Nanotechnology
      • Physics
      • Quantum Physics
      • Solar Energy
      • Technology
      • Wind Energy
      • ... more topics
      Space & Time
      • Astronomy
      • Black Holes
      • Dark Matter
      • Extrasolar Planets
      • Mars
      • Moon
      • Solar System
      • Space Telescopes
      • Stars
      • Sun
      • ... more topics
      Computers & Math
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Communications
      • Computer Science
      • Hacking
      • Mathematics
      • Quantum Computers
      • Robotics
      • Software
      • Video Games
      • Virtual Reality
      • ... more topics
  • Enviro
    • View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Plants & Animals
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Animals
      • Biology
      • Biotechnology
      • Endangered Animals
      • Extinction
      • Genetically Modified
      • Microbes and More
      • New Species
      • Zoology
      • ... more topics
      Earth & Climate
      • Climate
      • Earthquakes
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • Geology
      • Global Warming
      • Hurricanes
      • Ozone Holes
      • Pollution
      • Weather
      • ... more topics
      Fossils & Ruins
      • Ancient Civilizations
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Early Humans
      • Early Mammals
      • Evolution
      • Lost Treasures
      • Origin of Life
      • Paleontology
      • ... more topics
  • Society
    • View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education,
      or browse the topics below:
      Science & Society
      • Arts & Culture
      • Consumerism
      • Economics
      • Political Science
      • Privacy Issues
      • Public Health
      • Racial Disparity
      • Religion
      • Sports
      • World Development
      • ... more topics
      Business & Industry
      • Biotechnology & Bioengineering
      • Computers & Internet
      • Energy & Resources
      • Engineering
      • Medical Technology
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Transportation
      • ... more topics
      Education & Learning
      • Animal Learning & Intelligence
      • Creativity
      • Educational Psychology
      • Educational Technology
      • Infant & Preschool Learning
      • Learning Disorders
      • STEM Education
      • ... more topics
  • Quirky
    • Top News
    • Human Quirks
    • Odd Creatures
    • Bizarre Things
    • Weird World
Free Subscriptions

Get the latest science news with ScienceDaily's free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

  • Email Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
Follow Us

Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Have Feedback?

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

  • Leave Feedback
  • Contact Us
About This Site  |  Staff  |  Reviews  |  Contribute  |  Advertise  |  Privacy Policy  |  Editorial Policy  |  Terms of Use
Copyright 1995-2022 ScienceDaily or by other parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.
Content on this website is for information only. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice.
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners.
Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated.
— CCPA: Do Not Sell My Information — GDPR: Privacy Settings —