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Novel Therapeutic Strategy to Modulate CNS Neuroinflammation and Promote Functional recovery in Traumatic Brain Injury
DescriptionTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability in the United States. Current treatments have focused on early surgical intervention to limit hematoma expansion and supportive therapy; however, there are limited pharmacological interventions to reduce long-term cognitive sequelae post-injury. TBI causes a primary injury followed by a secondary biochemical and cellular response, which involves the induction of the neuroinflammatory response, which has been shown to contribute to worsening neurological outcomes after injury. The investigations in TBI have been hampered by the lack of effective immunotherapeutics that could target microglia (brain resident cells) inflammation and improve outcomes after injury. The mucosal immune system is a unique tolerogenic organ that provides a physiological approach for the induction of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Tregs were found to alleviate the inflammatory response by inhibiting microglial inflammation in preclinical TBI studies. Yet, there are still no effective and safe therapies capable of inducing Tregs and improving outcomes after TBI. In this talk, we will report that inducing immune tolerance by targeting nasal mucosa via anti-CD3 is a safe and novel therapeutic approach associated with CNS immune modulation and improvement in long-term behavioral outcomes after injury. Our studies have immediate translational possibilities for treating TBI patients given that a fully humanized anti-CD3 mAb (Foralumab) has been given to healthy volunteers and has shown positive effects in a pilot study of subjects suffering from COVID-19. The content to be presented in this talk has been supported by an NCS Research Training Fellowship.
Event Type
Breakout Session
TimeWednesday, October 16th11:40am - 12:00pm PDT
LocationHarbor Ballrooms D-I
Tracks
Science of Neurocritical Care
Focus Areas
Informatics
Nursing Pharmacology
Traumatic Brain Injury
Target Audiences
Advanced