BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Therapeutics: MicroRNA-30a (miR-30a)

October 6, 2016 7:00 AM UTC

Mouse studies suggest promoting miR-30a expression with disulfiram or diphenhydramine hydrochloride could help treat MS. In the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of MS, IV injection of a viral vector encoding miR-30a decreased infiltration of inflammatory cells and white matter demyelination in the spinal cord, and decreased clinical disease scores compared with a scrambled miRNA. In CD4+ T cells from the model, disulfiram or diphenhydramine hydrochloride increased miR-30a expression compared with vehicle. In the EAE model, disulfiram or diphenhydramine hydrochloride delayed disease onset and infiltration of inflammatory cells and white matter demyelination in the spinal cord and decreased disease scores. Next steps could include testing disulfiram and diphenhydramine hydrochloride in CD4+ T cells from MS patients.

The generic acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) inhibitor disulfiram is marketed to treat alcoholism. ...