Demyelinating diseases

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most frequent and most well-known demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to the disease, but the exact working mechanisms are still unknown. Animal models like the EAE (experimentally-induced encephalomyelitis) model in rhesus monkeys and marmosets have identified targets for treatment. Although MS is currently not curable, non-human primate models have led to drugs that are now widely used to manage the progression of the disease.

MOG antibody disease (MOGAD) is a newly classified demyelinating disease. MOGAD is associated with elevated levels of antibodies against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), one of the components of the myelin sheath. However, the pathogenicity of anti-MOG antibodies in the blood of MOGAD patients still needs to be confirmed. This can only be done in an animal model that recognizes the human anti-MOG antibodies. This is not the case in rodent models. Rhesus monkeys, however, express high levels of MOG and in vitro binding studies with rhesus macaque myelin we were able to confirm that the human antibodies bind to the rhesus myelin proteins. This implies rhesus macaques can be used to study the pathogenicity of patient-derived anti-MOG antibodies and to evaluate novel treatment options. Read more >