Potential of T-cell profiling in planning personalized treatment of multiple sclerosis

Program name/Funding institution

OPUS 24 / National Science Center (NCN)

IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD

Start date: 2023-07-06

Completion date: 2027-07-05

CONTRACT NO.

Contract no: UMO-2022/47/B/NZ7/02729

Project manager

Dr. hab. Katarzyna Donskow-Łysoniewska

Project budget

3,970,702.00 PLN

Applicant

Lazarski University

FACULTY

MEDICAL

Project description

Increasing human life expectancy in developed countries makes neurodegenerative diseases, along with cardiovascular and oncological diseases, a major challenge for medical science. In some cases of the projection-remission form of multiple sclerosis (RRMS), treatment does not produce the desired improvement, causing patients to discontinue treatment. New treatment strategies need to be developed, which is a long-term process, so there is a need to develop new approaches to the current treatment with immunomodulatory drugs(IMD). Our studies have identified four major molecular phenotypes of T cells in RRMS that determine the response to in vitro stimulation. Based on these results and advances in understanding the molecular basis of multiple sclerosis pathogenesis, we propose to continue this research using single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) technology to identify the molecular phenotype of T cells that determine the response to currently used IMDs. This will facilitate the development of a predictive algorithm indicating the clinical effect of IMD treatment. The identification of biomarkers that determine response to therapy is of great importance, as it opens up the possibility of new therapeutic targets and helps identify non-responsive patients who require personalized therapy.

Request for Proposals