Novel Therapeutic Modalities for Multiple Sclerosis

Dear Colleagues,

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that affects several million patients worldwide. Several drugs have been developed to treat this disease, which are mainly directed toward patients with relapsing–remitting MS. However, these drugs are pleotropic, and their mechanisms of action (MOA) vary between switching the immune system towards anti-inflammatory type 2 response, or preventing autoreactive T cells from extravasation into the CNS. Immunomodulatory drugs such as Avonex (interferon β-1), Copaxone (glatiramer acetate), Gilenya (fingolimod), Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), Novantrone (mitoxantrone), and Aubagio (teriflunomide), among others, have been used as disease-modifying therapy. Further, monoclonal antibodies which target specific molecules have also been used. Among these are Tysabri (Natalizumab), Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). Recent work has showen that drugs used to treat cancer patients such as Rituxan (rituximab), Actemra (Tocilizumab or atlizumab), and Avastin (bevacizumab) can also be used to treat MS patients.

However, all of the above-mentioned drugs do not cure MS and can only improve the quality of life of MS patients by reducing the periods of relapse and increasing the periods of remission. Before translating the effects of these drugs into actual treatment, they must be examined for their ability to reduce clinical scores in the established mouse model of MS, namely experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Therefore, this model is considered an important one for investigating the effects and MOA of any new drug that could eventually be used to treat patients.

This Research Topic will focus on new therapeutic modalities to treat MS patients or EAE mice that aim to modulate the immune system in these pathologies. In addition, the Research Topic will also discuss new information or novel MOA for the drugs already used from an immunological perspective. Emphasis will be directed towards drugs and monoclonal antibodies which are not only important as prophylactic and therapeutic tools, but also as tools to prevent developing the disease, particularly in those patients who will be stratified based on genetic data for a more personalized approach to treatment. We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review and Mini-Review articles covering the following topics:

• Development of new drugs and monoclonal antibodies that target the immune system with the aim of treating and/or preventing MS in humans or in mouse model;
• Investigating the MOA of novel drugs or monoclonal antibodies from an immunological perspective;
• Exploring the roles of B cells, T cells, dendritic cells, and natural killer cells in MS disease and how these populations can be modulated therapeutically in MS and EAE;
• Investigating the pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenomics of novel drugs or monoclonal antibodies;
• Novel understanding for already used drugs to treat patients or animals affected by the disease.

Prof. Dr. Azzam A. Maghazachi
Prof. Dr. Jennifer Hundt
Guest Editors

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