Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Drivers of Myelin Health and Myelin Repair in Pregnant MS Patients

This research study explores whether Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) that are produced during pregnancy may have beneficial roles in Multiple Sclerosis, in particular, to myelin health and/or repair capacity. We have characterized EVs from both pregnant and control mice, have completed studies to determine the effect of pregnancy EVs on oligodendrocyte progenitor cell proliferation, differentiation, and myelin gene expression. In addition we have sequenced miRNA cargos contained within pregnancy EVs compared to non-pregnant control EVs. We are currently working to establish the cellular and temporal requirements for EV uptake in the brain, as well as for the capacity of pregnancy EVs to alter myelin repair trajectories using both cuprizone-mediated demyelination in the brain, and lysolecithin-mediated demyelination in cerebellar slice cultures.