Brief Project Description

Ανάπτυξη καινοτόμου θεραπευτικής προσέγγισης για την καταπολέμηση της Σκλήρυνσης κατά Πλάκας

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that is characterized by focused inflammation and demyelination of white matter in brain and spinal cord.

The spread of the disease is of great concern and affects mainly young adults while there is no effective and completed therapy yet.

The main goal of this proposal is to develop an innovative therapeutic approach for MS.

We will design and develop peptide analogues based on immunodominant epitopes of myelin proteins, such as Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG), encapsulated into PLGA [poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid] polymeric type nanoparticles.

The surface of nanoparticles will be chemically modified with mannose molecules targeting Dendritic Cells (DC, antigen presenting cells) – the main antigen presenting cells involved in MS.

The mannose molecules, on the surface of nanoparticles, will target the Mannose Receptors (MR) of Dendritic Cells, leading to a selective and slow antigen release, from the polymeric matrix of nanoparticles to DC, in order to achieve tolerance against the progress of MS.

The synthesized mannosylated nanoparticles will be evaluated for:

The evaluation will be carried out at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute by Dr. Lesley Probert (collaborating institute).