THe project

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system caused by damage to the insulating covers around nerve cell dendrites.  A new type of cell death was recently discovered that is caused by the oxidation of membranes. Iron plays an important role in the “rusting” of cell membranes, so this form of cell death is called ferroptosis. Increased iron contents are observed in the brains of MS patients in damaged areas. Therefore, we wish to use genetic and pharmacological methods to study whether ferroptosis plays a role in murine models of MS and to examine whether the blocking of ferroptosis brings about an improvement.