Study authors administered miR-219 into the spinal columns and cerebrospinal fluid of mice with nerve coatings damaged by a chemical called lysolecithin or by autoimmune encephalomyelitis induced in the animals, which is used to model MS. Treatment with miR-219 reinvigorated the function of damaged cells called oligodendrocytes that produce myelin, which allowed the substance to reform and reinsulate nerves. "We show that miR-219 targets multiple processes that inhibit myelin formation after nerve injury by the disease process, and that treatment with this microRNA partially restores myelination and limb function," said Q. Richard Lu, PhD, lead investigator and scientific director of the Brain Tumor Center at Cincinnati Children's. "It is conceivable that augmenting miR-219 treatment with other blockers of myelin regrowth may provide a multipoint treatment strategy for people with demyelinating diseases like MS." The authors stress that because their study was conducted in laboratory mouse models of disease, their data cannot at this stage be applied to clinical treatment in humans. Lu's laboratory studies how certain glial cell subtypes of the central and peripheral nervous system form, participate in regeneration and how they can transform into cancerous cells. Molecular Silencer MicroRNAs are short segments of RNA encoded on the chromosomes … Continue reading →

Newswise CINCINNATI Scientists partially re-insulated ravaged nerves in mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS) and restored limb mobility by treating the animals with a small non-coding RNA called a microRNA. In a study published online March 27 in Developmental Cell, researchers at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center report that treatment with a microRNA called miR-219 restarted production of a substance called myelin in nerves of the central nervous system. Myelin forms a protective sheath around nerves, allowing them to efficiently transmit electrical impulses that stimulate movement. Study authors administered miR-219 into the spinal columns and cerebrospinal fluid of mice with nerve coatings damaged by a chemical called lysolecithin or by autoimmune encephalomyelitis induced in the animals, which is used to model MS. Treatment with miR-219 reinvigorated the function of damaged cells called oligodendrocytes that produce myelin, which allowed the substance to reform and reinsulate nerves. We show that miR-219 targets multiple processes that inhibit myelin formation after nerve injury by the disease process, and that treatment with this microRNA partially restores myelination and limb function, said Q. Richard Lu, PhD, lead investigator and scientific director of the Brain Tumor Center at Cincinnati Childrens. It is conceivable that augmenting miR-219 treatment … Continue reading →