NIH R01 · 2025
Immune Privilege, CNS Autoimmunity, and Clostridium perfringens Epsilon Toxin
Why some people develop Multiple Sclerosis and others do not, despite similar genetic risk and quantities of circulating autoreactive lymphocytes, is not known. Our long-term goal is to identify environmental triggers of MS, define the molecular and cellular basis of their action, and in doing so, propose new diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets. The objectives of this proposal are to determine mechanistically how Clostridium perfringens epsilon toxin (ETX) and Bordetella pertussis toxin (PTX) overcome CNS immune privilege to trigger autoimmunity in the context of myelin autoreactive lymphocytes and to understand why ETX causes lesions to develop in the forebrain, cerebellum, brainstem,…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.