Promising Findings on the Role of T-bet+ Memory B Cells in MS: Rajiv Jain, PhD

WATCH TIME: 4 minutes

“For the last 2 years or so, I've been able to really push this project forward and now it seems really promising. I've identified at least one population of B cells that seems to be driving this disease.”

B-cells in multiple sclerosis (MS) have been studied over the years in efforts to understand the condition as it has been a challenge with trying to find which molecules interact with the disease pathology the most. It has been believed that using animal models to identify contributions of different B cells in MS can provide more context and insight on MS. Rajiv Jain, PhD, and colleagues identified 1 population of B cells that seemed to play a role with disease using a new experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model.

At the 2023 Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, February 23-25, in San Diego, California, Javin and colleagues presented the findings ina cutting edge development session.¹ The presentation highlighted that a pathogenic B-cell subset, T-bet+ memory B-cells, accumulate in the central nervous system (CNS). Additionally, these cells were found to be associated with CD4+ T cell and peripheral macrophage infiltration into the central nervous system.

During the forum, Jain, post-doctoral associate, department of clinical neurosciences, University of Calgary, sat down for an interview with NeurologyLive® to discuss more about the findings shared in the cutting edge development session. He provided a brief overview of the study along with additional information he observed during his PhD research. In addition, he talked about the significance of the results and how it could potentially assist the development of other therapies for MS.

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.