Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, 2008 · DOI: · Published: January 1, 2008
This review addresses the use of antibodies reactive to CNS antigens to promote remyelination. Antibody-induced remyelination in a virus-mediated model of chronic spinal cord injury was initially observed in response to treatment with CNS reactive antisera. The IgM isoform of this reparative antibody is required for in vivo function. We hypothesize that the IgM clusters membrane domains and associated signaling molecules on the surface of target cells. Remyelination promoting IgMs are the first potential therapeutic molecules designed to induce tissue repair by acting within the CNS at sites of damage on the cells responsible for myelin synthesis.
Remyelination-promoting IgMs could be a new class of therapeutics for demyelinating diseases, offering a different approach from current anti-inflammatory treatments.
The ability of rHIgM22 to target sites of CNS damage suggests it could be used as a vector to deliver other reparative molecules to demyelinated lesions.
In patients with insufficient myelinating cells, remyelination-promoting IgMs could be combined with glial cell transplantation to enhance the reparative potential of the transplanted cells.