Multiple sclerosis (MS) is extremely difficult to study because the structure the immune system attacks — called the myelin sheath — is buried deep in the brain and spinal cord.

“For autoimmune diseases that affect tissues like the skin, researchers can usually biopsy and study these samples,” says BRI’s Estelle Bettelli, PhD. “But the brain is such a complex organ that it would be too invasive to perform biopsies of multiple sclerosis plaques.”

That’s why Dr. Bettelli’s team develops sophisticated MS models to investigate its mysteries and pursue innovative therapies. Despite the pandemic, her team has kept their research moving forward, working toward solving some of the biggest mysteries of this complex disease. We recently asked her for an update on BRI’s MS progress.

The pandemic has transformed our day-to-day activities in the laboratory: We’ve had to organize different shifts of people working in the lab, reconfigure our workspaces and adjust the timing of the experiments. But thanks to the hard work and dedication of lab members and BRI’s excellent infrastructure, we were able to adapt quickly and continue our research with limited disruption.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve had to consider how COVID-19 might impact people with MS and how their immune systems would respond to the virus. We also need to learn more about how therapies we use to treat MS might impact a patient’s immune response to COVID-19. We are designing approaches and applying for funding to pursue answers to these questions.