Immunome Research
Open Access

The story of Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and its new applications

International Conference on Autoimmunity

October 13-14, 2016 Manchester, UK

Rina Aharoni

The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Immunome Res

Abstract :

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is currently recognized as complex diseases in which inflammatory autoimmune reactivity in the central nervous system (CNS) results in demyelination, axonal and neuronal pathology. Novel treatment strategies aim to reduce the detrimental inflammation and induce neuroprotective repair processes. The synthetic copolymer Copaxone (glatiramer acetate, GA), an approved drug for the treatment of MS, is the first and so far the only therapeutic agent to have a copolymer as its active ingredient. Using the animal model of MS experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the immunomodulatory mechanism of action of GA was elucidated. It was found that GA treatment induces immunomodulatory shift from the inflammatory towards the anti-inflammatory pathways. Furthermore, recent studies revealed neuroprotective and repair consequences of GA treatment in the CNS. These include elevation in neurotrophic factors expressions, remyelination and neurogenesis. Based on its immunomodulatory mode of action, additional potential applications of GA were investigated, such as prevention of immune rejection, improvement of stem cells engraftment and amelioration of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Biography :

Email: rina.aharoni@weizmann.ac.il