Therapeutics: AMPA 2 glutamate receptor (GRIA2; GLUR2); glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH)

In vitro and mouse studies suggest a peptide that disrupts GLUR2-GAPDH interactions could help treat MS. In postmortem spinal cord samples from MS patients and the mouse experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS, levels of the GLUR2-GAPDH complex were higher than in samples from postmortem control subjects and normal mice. In the EAE mouse model, a peptide that disrupts the GLUR2-GAPDH complex increased neuron and oligodendrocyte survival and decreased axonal damage, demyelination and motor dysfunction compared with a scrambled peptide. Ongoing studies include developing a formulation for non-invasive delivery of the peptide...