A new study has discovered ways to protect neurons from the detrimental effect, a high-fat diet on the development of multiple sclerosis. Led by neuroscientist Patrizia Casaccia, founding director of the Advanced Science Research Centre at the CUNY Graduate Center, the research focuses on the role of a group of enzymes that impact neuronal health.
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease in which the myelin sheath-insulating nerves are destroyed. Current treatments largely target the immune system. But it is not well understood what specific mechanisms drive neurodegeneration in MS.
Previous work from Casaccia’s lab and others suggested that a high-fat diet. Particularly one full of palm oil, exacerbates MS symptoms. In this study, researchers looked at how such diets affect neuronal health.
The researchers used an experimental model called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, or EAE, that mimics MS.
They found a diet rich in palm oil led to worse disease progression in mice. “Inside neuronal cells, palm oil becomes a poisonous chemical called C16 ceramide. Thanks to the presence of specific enzymes called CerS5 and CerS6,” Casaccia said. This ceramide causes mitochondrial damage, depriving neurons of the energy necessary to fight brain inflammation.
To investigate further, the researchers genetically removed the CerS6 and CerS5 enzymes in neurons. They found that such removal protects against neurodegeneration, even when mice were on a diet rich in palmitic acid. “This new information points to a specific metabolic pathway through which dietary fats worsen MS symptoms,” said Damien Marechal, co-first author of the study.
These findings have great implications, not only for those diagnosed with MS but also for clinicians and researchers. The study epitomizes how lifestyle choices, mainly dietary, are an overwhelming feature in the course of the disease. The results of this study indicate that judicious dietary choices may improve symptoms of MS.
Casaccia drove home the importance of the research: “Our work provides a molecular explanation for how to protect neurons from toxic molecules produced by palm oil.” She says she hopes this information will also help patients make informed dietary choices that might improve their disease course. The researchers also identified several targets that may be useful in strategies to interfere with the effects of CerS5 and CerS6 in neurons.
It uncovers the relationship between diet and MS, therefore opening the way to new forms of treatment that would emphasize diet and neuron protection.
ANI
