Single-Cell Analysis to Better Understand the Mechanisms Involved in MS

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Although this disease is widely studied, many of the precise mechanisms involved are still not well known. Numerous studies currently focusing on multiple sclerosis highlight the involvement of many major immune cell subsets, such as CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells and more recently B cells. However, our vision of its pathology has remained too broad to allow the proper use of targeted therapeutics. This past decade, new technologies have emerged, enabling deeper research into the different cell subsets at the single-cell level both in the periphery and in the central nervous system. These technologies could allow us to identify new cell populations involved in the disease process and new therapeutic targets. In this review, we briefly introduce the major single-cell technologies currently used in studies before diving into the major findings from the multiple sclerosis research from the past 5 years. We focus on results that were obtained using single-cell technologies to study immune cells and cells from the central nervous system.

Keywords: astrocytes; lymphocytes; microglia; monocytes; multiple sclerosis; oligodendrocytes; single-cell.

Figure 1

Representation of relevant cell types found in the blood, CSF and CNS during MS inflammation. Cells represent highlights discussed in this review. Figure made by authors using Biorender.com.