Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease affecting approximately 90,000 Canadians and more than 2.5 million people worldwide. As there is currently no effective medication to prevent MS progression, Dr. Kevin Champagne-Jorgensen, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto, is exploring how manipulating the microbiota can combat MS progression. This research aims to develop microbe-based therapeutics to improve the health of people with MS and to modify an MS-promoting microbiota into one that protects against MS progression, potentially providing a new way to treat MS patients.

The gastrointestinal tract contains trillions of symbiotic microorganisms (microbiota) that are critical for normal immunity, physiology, and development. Evidence suggests that the gut microbiota may influence MS and other neurological disorders. Dr. Champagne-Jorgensen’s research has found that gut microbes are important for healthy neurodevelopment and has shown a new mechanism where gut bacterial nanoparticles may enter the bloodstream, interacting with the brain and immune systems in both health and disease states. Dr. Champagne-Jorgensen is now expanding on these findings by focusing on microbiota from MS patients to identify which microbes affect disease progression and understand the mechanisms involved. Ultimately, this research aims to modify MS-promoting microbiota to instead protect against MS progression, laying the groundwork for innovative microbe-based therapeutics to enhance the wellbeing of people with MS worldwide.