Teaching the immune system to tolerate myelin
Official title: Tunable Assembly of Regulatory Immune Signals to Promote Myelin-specific Tolerance
Funded at Baltimore VA Medical Center · NIH-11212781 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are developing vaccine-like treatments to train the immune system not to attack myelin in people with multiple sclerosis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Baltimore VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2017 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX003690-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11212781 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with multiple sclerosis—especially relapsing forms—or others whose disease involves immune attacks on myelin.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with non-autoimmune neurological disorders or advanced progressive MS driven mainly by neurodegeneration may not benefit from myelin-specific tolerance approaches.
What this research studies
If you have MS, this research aims to create vaccine-style therapies that pair small pieces of myelin with immune signals that encourage protective regulatory T cells. The team is tuning how those signals are put together and targeting pathways like TLR9 that are linked to myelin-driven inflammation. Much of the work uses lab and animal models to find formulations that promote myelin-specific tolerance without suppressing overall immunity. The goal is a safer, targeted approach that protects myelin while preserving normal immune defenses.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could reduce MS relapses while avoiding broad immune suppression.
How similar studies have gone: Antigen-specific tolerance strategies have shown promise in animals and early human peptide trials, but combining tunable regulatory signals and TLR-targeting is a newer approach with limited clinical testing so far.
Where this research is happening
-
Baltimore VA Medical Center
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jewell, Christopher M — Baltimore VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Jewell, Christopher M
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.