Advancing Treatments Award
Targeting PARP to rescue TDP-43
Validate therapeutic targets
£335,349.17
View projectProtecting the neuromuscular junction
Professor Tom Gillingwater and Dr Helena Chaytow, University of Edinburgh
Advancing Treatments Award
Accelerate new treatments
April 2026 – March 2029
£299,223.28
Summary
The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is an important contact point at which motor neurons pass messages onto the muscle, telling them to contract or relax. In MND, motor neurons draw back from this junction before they eventually die. Professor Gillingwater’s team discovered that immune cells, attracted to the NMJ by chemical signals, target and destroy the neuromuscular junction in MND. In this project, the team aim to develop and test new therapies that block one of these chemical signals, called CCL2, to preserve the NMJ and prevent the death of motor neurons in MND.
Why this research is important
This research will increase our understanding of the immune system and the neuromuscular junction, potentially opening novel avenues for therapeutic intervention in MND. By testing multiple therapeutic strategies, the researchers will be able to determine the best way to translate a treatment like this into people living with MND.
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