Patient-derived stem cells help in MS disease research
What is the significance of microglia or the resident immune cells of the brain in the developing of the MS disease? Can suitable drug targets be found by means of stem cells? This is being examined in the Neuroimmunology Research Group at Tampere University. At the Tampere Institute for Advanced Study, Postdoctoral Research Fellow and cell biologist Tanja Hyvärinen hopes that by means of utilizing the human stem cell-based disease models the MS disease mechanisms could be understood and potential medication discovered to control the progression of the disease.
Stem cells as research tools
Cell biologist Tanja Hyvärinen is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University. She works in the research group led by Academy Research Fellow Sanna Hagman, which investigates the pathogenesis of the MS disease. The aim of their research is to create a neuroinflammatory model by utilizing human stem cells and organ-on-chip technology.
Stem cells are undifferentiated human cells that are able by dividing to produce both new stem cells and differentiated cells, like neural cells.
– I became interested in stem cells already when I was a student, after which stem cell research caught my full attention. They are an interesting tool for modelling diseases and developing new treatments for neural diseases, for example, says Hyvärinen.
Overactive immune cells of the brain can further the progression of the MS disease
The MS disease, or multiple sclerosis, is the most common inflammatory disease of the central nervous system affecting young adults’ ability to move and function. The MS disease is an autoimmune disease, which means that one’s body attacks against its own tissues. Factors causing the MS disease are not properly known – However, both environmental and genetic factors play a role in this. Although there is no cure or preventive measures, the progression of the disease can be slowed down with medication. The symptoms are very variable: the most common ones, among others, are problems with vision and sensation as well as muscle weakness.
– We investigate into the significance of the immune cells of the brain, microglia, in the pathogenesis of the MS disease. The task of microglia is to protect the brain and take care of its immune defense, but in an abnormal condition, such as in the MS disease, their overactivation may also have negative effects, explains Hyvärinen.
– Our research utilizes the cell stem lines derived from MS patients’ blood cells, which carry the genetic risk factors of the MS disease. Out of these, we produce microglia in the laboratory. Based on the laboratory model, we can study the potential problems and inflammatory activation of microglia, which could play a part in the progression of the MS disease.
Future is on the side of stem cell research
The future perspectives for stem cell research are promising. Stem cell research offers a human-specific model for research on the pathogenesis and progression of diseases. In addition, it helps to understand the significance of genetic risk factors. Hyvärinen is also hopeful for the future of the research.
– I hope that in the future we could identify the mechanisms of the MS disease by means of its stem cell models as well as test and find potential drugs to control the progression of the MS disease.
Keywords: MS disease, multiple sclerosis, stem cell, stem cell research, stem cell model, immune cells, microglia, Tampere University, Tampere Institute for Advanced Study