Junior Research Associate Yekaterina Zmiyevskaya working on microvesicle-based drug against multiple sclerosis

She is one the 27 KFU recipients of the Russian Science Foundation’s grant funding.

The research consultant of her project ‘Research of the properties of microvesicles from T-lymphocytes in regard to multiple sclerosis’ is Lead Research Associate of the Laboratory of Industrial Biopharmaceutics Emil Bulatov.

Multiple sclerosis is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases with severe symptoms impairing almost all bodily functions, such as speech, movement, vision, immunity, and others. No etiological treatment has yet been proposed, and existing techniques are palliative and symptomatic.

The grant winner comments, “The project aims to research therapeutic effects of microvesicles obtained from regulatory T cells. In multiple sclerosis, the functioning of these cells is impaired. There are examples where T regulatory lymphocytes extracted from a MS patient’s organism were then multiplied in vitro and introduced back to the patient with promising outcomes. However, the behavior of live cells in an organism is not easily predictable, and they are difficult to store and transport.”

So the gist of Zmiyevskaya’s scholarly pursuit is to produce a microvesicle preparation. Microvesicles are small bubbles separated from a mother cell and containing necessary cell components. They cannot divide in human body and can thus be easily dosed. Additionally, they are susceptible to lyophilization (drying) and can be readily transported in such a manner.