Impact of Erb-B Signaling on Myelin Repair in the CNS Following Virus-Induced Damage

Abstract

These studies examine the impact of erbB-mediated signaling on myelin destruction and repair in a novel murine model of central nervous system (CNS) demyelination. Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) injection directly into the murine spinal cord is used in these experiments. We are examining the impact of either deleting the receptor for neuregulins (erbB2 and/or EGFR; using knockout mice) or increase the availability of the ligands for these receptors (the neuregulins; using recombinant adenoviruses). We hypothesize that increased erbB-mediated signaling will protect animals from disease and that decreased signaling will negatively impact repair. The data described herein demonstrate that Schwann cells are likely one of the main mediators of repair in our model due to the large increases of P0 transcripts within the lesion site. Furthermore, the adenoviral vectors expressing various neuregulin isoforms do not appear to alter cytokine production. Furthermore, damage occurs in normal appearing white matter as indicated by apoptosis assays.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA501171

Entities

People

  • Kristen M. Drescher

Organizations

  • Creighton University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adenoviruses
  • Apoptosis
  • Biomedical Research
  • Blood
  • Cells
  • Central Nervous System
  • Cytokines
  • Growth Factors
  • Immune System
  • Lymphocytes
  • Microbiology
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Nervous System
  • Peripheral Nervous System
  • Proteins
  • Spinal Cord
  • Viruses

Fields of Study

  • Biology

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