Exploring New Therapies for MS With Research on T-bet+ memory B Cells: Rajiv Jain, PhD

WATCH TIME: 5 minutes

“Once you have a population identified as behaving differently than all the other B cell populations and once we know a bit more about the mechanism of how they're working, we can then know how to design a variety of different therapies.”

Based on research from cells in multiple sclerosis (MS), there have been several therapies developed to slowing the disease progression and reducing symptoms for patients. Recent research on B-cells in MS has been aimed at understanding which specific molecules interact the most with the disease pathology.

Rajiv Jain, PhD, and colleagues presented an abstract poster on T-bet+ memory B-cells in MS at the 2023 Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, February 23-25, in San Diego, California, in a cutting edge development session.1 Using an autoimmune encephalomyelitis model, the main finding from the study identified that this population of B cells seemed to play an important role with the disease pathology. Other highlights of the presentation included that as a pathogenic B-cell subset, T-bet+ memory B-cells accumulate in the central nervous system (CNS). Notably in the results, the cells observed appeared to be associated with CD4+ T cell and peripheral macrophage infiltration into the CNS.

Jain, post-doctoral associate, department of clinical neurosciences, University of Calgary, sat down for an interview with NeurologyLive® at the forum to talk more about his process of his research on T-Bet+ memory B cells. In addition, he also shared his reactions to the findings from his study as well as his thoughts on how his type of research could play a key role in other aspects of MS that clinicians should be aware of. He also provided context on the importance of research in autoimmune encephalomyelitis for understanding MS and other related autoimmune disorders.

Click here for more coverage of ACTRIMS 2023.

REFERENCES
1. Jain R, Mendes A, Zein S, et al. T-bet+ Memory B Cells Induce Disease Relapses in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis. Presented at ACTRIMS Forum 2023; February 23-25; San Diego, California. Cutting Edge Developments 1.