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Scientific Publications

The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) is committed to advancing research as rapidly as possible through prompt publication of results. In six years of collaboration, the MRF scientific team has published more than 80 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. This is twice the rate of publication prior to their participation with MRF. Each month the MRF publishes a brief summary of one of these papers.

New This Month

MRF Researchers identify signal that is important for the formation of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Understanding these mechanisms may help develop therapeutics for patients with multiple sclerosis by rebuilding the BBB and limiting the damage by immune infiltration.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. 2009 Jan 13;106(2):641-6.

Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is required for CNS, but not non-CNS, angiogenesis.

Authors: Richard Daneman, Dritan Agalliu, Lu Zhou, Frank Kuhnert, Calvin J. Kuo, and Ben A. Barres

Summary: The blood vessels in the central nervous system (CNS) form a specialized structure termed the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that limits the movement of molecules and ions from moving from the blood to the brain. This BBB is important for proper neuronal function as well as protecting the CNS from injury and disease. This is especially important in multiple sclerosis, where a breakdown of the BBB allows immune cells into the CNS which causes debilitating damage to the myelin. Therefore understanding the mechanisms of BBB formation may allow for repair of the BBB in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, limiting the damage by immune infiltration.

In this paper we have identified that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is important for the formation of the BBB. We demonstrate that Wnt signaling is specifically activated in CNS blood vessels during development, and that disruption of this leads to defects in CNS blood vessel formation, and the loss of specific BBB properties. This provides a new mechanistic understanding for BBB formation. Previous models suggest that blood vessel formation in all tissues was the same, and that BBB formation occurs after vessel formation. This study demonstrates that blood vessel formation in CNS uses a different molecular mechanism than in other tissues, and this is tied in with BBB formation. Understanding these mechanisms may help develop therapeutics for rebuilding the BBB in patients with multiple sclerosis.

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