Antibody treatment could significantly improve lives following spinal cord injury: Researchers

The United States Department of Defense Spinal Cord Injury Research Program has announced a grant of more than a million dollars U.S. to support research at the Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario (Western). The spinal cord injury research team of Gregory Dekaban, Arthur Brown, Lynne Weaver and Paula Foster, in collaboration with Brian Kwon of the University of British Columbia and Kyle Petersen of the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center, is working on a new therapy designed to limit the damage caused by inflammation immediately following spinal cord injury. The grant will move their work, led by Dekaban, closer to a clinical trial.

Nearly a quarter of wounded military personnel requiring evacuation from the field suffer spinal cord or traumatic brain injury. As well, 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injury occur every year in the North American civilian population. Spinal cord injury creates physical, psychological and financial challenges to the injured and their families. These injuries are also a significant burden for health care systems.

Spinal cord injury occurs in two stages. The first is the physical injury from trauma; the second stage, that extends the initial damage, is caused in large part by inflammation in the spinal cord. "This antibody therapy is designed to be given by intravenous injection as soon as possible after a person comes into the emergency department with a spinal cord injury, or at least within 24 hours," explains Dekaban, a Robarts Scientist in the Molecular Brain Research Group and Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. "In our preclinical models, it's been shown to make a significant improvement in recovery. This antibody treatment could also be effective for traumatic brain injury. "

The antibody targets a protein known as CD11d on the surface of inflammatory cells that circulate in blood. CD11d is required by white blood cells to leave the bloodstream and enter the injured spinal cord. The anti-CD11d antibody is designed to block that process. By blocking the entry and retention of these white blood cells at the site of injury, the researchers successfully reduced inflammation and improved neurological recovery in preclinical models of spinal cord injury.

The research at Robarts so far has employed a mouse antibody that recognizes human CD11d. This new award from the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program funded by the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program will support the development of a humanized antibody suitable for use in a clinical trial. This research will be carried out in conjunction with Eli Lilly and Company.

The spinal cord injury team at Robarts has been working on this project for a decade. "This project highlights the importance of peer-reviewed funding in producing new discoveries in neuroscience and the subsequent role of university-industry partnerships in commercializing such technologies," says Ravi Menon, Deputy Director of Robarts. "Robarts continues to excel at all aspects of the discovery cycle, with the rigorously evaluated results benefitting patients and creating commercial value."