CEMO is delighted to announce the seminar of the department that will be given by PhD students and PostDocs.

The seminar will be followed by a lunch (kindly provided by the department) in order to allow everybody to interact and promote collaborations between labs.

Agenda:

12h00 - “ Can the effects of microRNAs on oligodendrocyte precursor cells and microglia help understand the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis?” - Océane PERDAENS (NCHM lab)

Abstract:

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). The local breakdown of the blood brain barrier, the invasion of peripheral immune cells and the activation of CNS-resident cells result in demyelination and neuroaxonal loss, in turn responsible for disability accrual. Chronic neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration and remyelination failure, in part due to the lack of oligodendrocyte precursor cell differentiation, are involved in disease progression.

MicroRNAs are small 18-22 nucleotide-long non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by inhibiting messenger RNA translation. They are largely studied in the pathogenesis of many diseases, such as MS.

We have previously identified 21 microRNAs differentially expressed in MS, of which 18 in the cerebrospinal fluid. To further investigate their involvement in the pathophysiology of MS, we have focused on their effects on oligodendrocyte precursor cells and microglia.

We hypothesize that microRNAs can affect the phenotypic faith of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and microglia, regarding their differentiation and activation respectively. Thus, they could contribute to explaining the pathogenesis of the disease and possibly unravel novel therapeutic targets.

12h45 - Q&A session

13h00 - Lunch