AB Science

New research shows that masitinib limits neuronal damage in a model of neuroimmune-driven neurodegenerative disease - Seite 2

• Key points from this research article include:
  • Masitinib treatment significantly limited NfL production in EAE mice with respect to the control group, at various timepoints during the 15-day treatment period and in a dose dependent manner.
  • Masitinib significantly lowered several well-established pro-inflammatory cytokine biomarker concentrations in EAE mice.
  • A beneficial effect of masitinib on functional performance was also observed, with significantly less relative deterioration in grip strength as compared with the control group.
  • The measurement of NfL in biological fluids has been proposed for monitoring the therapeutic effect of drugs aimed at reducing axonal damage in various NDDs, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.
  • EAE is a model of neuroimmune-driven chronic neuroinflammation and therefore highly relevant to masitinib's mechanism of action in NDDs.
  • Data was derived after disease onset (i.e., in a therapeutic setting as opposed to an asymptomatic preventative setting), which is of greater relevance because such models more closely simulate the clinical condition of NDD patients and therefore better represent their therapeutic needs.
    
    

[1] Hermine O, Vermersch P, et al. Masitinib limits neuronal damage, as measured by serum neurofilament light chain concentration, in a model of neuroimmune-driven neurodegenerative disease. Preprint. bioRxiv 2024.03.07.583695; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.07.583695
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.07.583695v1.full.pdf+h ...

About the neurofilament light chain (NfL) biomarker
The measurement of neurofilament light chain (NfL) in biological fluids has been proposed for monitoring the therapeutic effect of drugs aimed at reducing axonal damage. NfL are cytoskeletal proteins that are highly specific for neurons in both the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system. NfL in cerebrospinal fluid or the bloodstream is therefore indicative of axonal lesions and/or degeneration and elevated NfL levels are associated with traumatic brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases (NDD), including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. A growing body of literature shows that because the level of free NfL in serum/plasma directly reflects neuronal damage within the CNS, it can be used as a reliable and easily accessible marker of disease intensity and/or activity across a variety of neurological disorders.