A backpack full of multiple sclerosis therapy

A backpack-based myeloid cell therapy for multiple sclerosis, PNAS Backpack Monocte: Image 1 caption: Shown on the left, is an immunofluorescence image of a monocyte with its outer cell membrane stained in green and nucleus stained in blue, and to which the team has attached backpacks loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs stained in red. The illustration on the right shows how drug-loaded backpacks can be easily attached to primary monocytes isolated from peripheral blood, using an antibody fragment binding a specific surface protein. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University Therapeutic effects of backpack-carrying monocytes on MS: Backpack-carrying monocytes (right column), but not normal monocytes (middle column) or a salt solution (left colum), infused into a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) with “acute inflammatory lesions,” prevent the invasion of inflammatory cells (top row), and improve nerve myelination (bottom row). Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University.