Potential New Target For Multiple Sclerosis Therapy

Another very early stage (mouse only) discovery points to a potential target for another MS drug. Researchers demonstrated both genetic and pharmaceutical evidence for the role of a protein called collagenase-2 in the development of MS. Collagenase-2 is a member of a protein family called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs, collagenase-2 is MMP8), a large group of enzymes that break down collagen and other components of the body's connective tissue. MMPs have been implicated in contributing to MS by degrading the tissue that maintains the blood-brain barrier.