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How to utilise the innate immune system in Multiple Sclerosis?

Hosted by: Professor Ian Cockburn

Abstract

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune neurodegenerative condition of the central nervous system. Most research and therapeutic interventions in MS have focused on the adaptive immune responses. However, the innate immune system is emerging as a potent player in the context of MS. My group investigates the abundance and function of two major innate cell populations using the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model and an array of state-of-the-art flow-cytometric and analysing techniques. We have access to two therapeutic reagents: a small molecule inhibitor affecting a key function of neutrophils and liposome-based nanoparticles that are able to deliver known treatments to target dendritic cell populations. We aim to clarify the role of these innate populations in the context of neuroinflammation, as seen in MS, and develop the therapeutic reagents for their potential use. Further, we investigate the signatures of neutrophils and DCs in blood samples of people with MS and non-MS controls aiming to identify neutrophil and/or DC-derived factors or pathways that can be targeted therapeutically to treat people with MS.

Biography

Associate Professor Anne Brüestle is an immunologist at the John Curtin School of Medical Research.

Her work centres around the autoimmune component of Multiple Sclerosis, the most common neurodegenerative condition in young adults. Her group investigates key immune populations driving the pathogenesis of this devastating condition using laboratory model systems to understand the underlying biological principals. In collaboration with diverse industrial partners her group further evaluates potential new targets for conceptually novel MS treatments and deciphers their biological mechanisms in neuroinflammation. In 2018 she was awarded the Young Tall Poppy Award for her work for and with the MS community and she holds a senior research fellowship from MS Australia. She further is the MS research lead and chair of “Our Health in Our Hands” an transdisciplinary program to develop personalised monitoring and managing approaches for chronic autoimmune conditions such as MS and diabetes.

Associate Professor Brüestle completed her PhD in Human Biology 2008 at the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Philipps-University in Marburg, Germany. She was recruited to ANU in mid 2014, after being a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Toronto, Canada. Besides her research and MS community engagement she currently is Associate Dean HDR for ANU College of Health and Medicine.