Eleven years ago, Methodist Rehabilitation Center researchers made a ground-breaking discovery when they were the first to link West Nile Virus to polio-like damage to the spinal cord.
MRC has since grown into an internationally recognized center for WNV research and treatment of the neurological complications of the infection, attracting patient referrals from as far away as Washington and Virginia.
Thanks to a lead gift by Jorge Leis of Houston, Texas, and three other generous donors, the Wilson Research Foundation has new commitments totaling $615,000 for promising new research to elucidate how the virus affects the nervous system.
With these gifts, MRC has established The West Nile Virus Research Network to conduct clinical, patient-focused research, provide support services, and collaborate with scientists from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and University of Southern Mississippi for basic science research.
The USM team is investigating the virus’s attack on the nervous system during the brief time the virus is alive in the human body. The UMMC team is considering the damage that can occur even after the virus is dead.
“Our recent findings are the basis for this collaborative research,” said Dr. Dobrivoje Stokic, Network Co-Director. “In nearly half of people examined soon after WNV infection, we found that a brain protein S100B was abnormally increased, not only in the spinal fluid but also in the blood stream.
“The work in experimental animals under leadership of Parminder J. Vig, Ph.D., professor of Neurology at UMMC, spooked us,” Stokic said. “They found that after the virus is no longer alive, the remaining viral pieces are also able to stimulate production of protein S100B.
“While S100B in small amounts is necessary for normal brain function, we suspect that increased levels may be harmful, particularly in the long run. After we better understand the cascade of events leading to abnormal production of S100B and how it affects the brain tissue, our hope is to find a way to interrupt that sequence and prevent damage.”
“We still don’t know how long S100B remains in the blood. Clinical studies are underway where we will bring people back over a three month period to repeatedly analyze their blood.
Dr. Art Leis is also serving as Network Co-Director.
“The presence of S100B in the blood is not normal and our bodies may react and produce antibodies to S100B,” Leis said. “We hypothesize that these antibodies may go from blood back into the brain tissue and perhaps cause damage. The development of auto-immunity fits our observations of myasthenia gravis (muscles tiring and weakening easily) that developed several months after the WNV infection. We will test these hypotheses with the help of UMMC and USM.”
Translational Research is often envisioned as moving knowledge gained from the laboratory to clinical settings, often called as ‘bench to bedside’ research.
“Typical bench to bedside research takes years, with often unpredictable or disappointing results,” Stokic said. “We did the opposite—we began by observing our patients and those observations are driving our laboratory research. This should speed up the process to unlock the mysteries of neurological damage and to identify potential targets for useful therapies.”