Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by an immune response that triggers inflammation, killing myelin and oligodendrocytes in the brain. This can lead to lack of motor function, among other complications. Current treatments for M.S. involve stopping the immune response and slowing the progression of the disease in doing so. However, there are no current treatments for remyelinating the axons and reversing the progression of M.S. Co-cultures of oligodendrocytes and neurons are often used in studies for treatments of M.S.; current studies using co-cultures are expensive, difficult to use, or lack proper differentiation. The first goal of this study is to develop a co-culture of oligodendrocytes and neurons capable of differentiating without the help of chemicals such as retinoic acid (RA) and PMA, which is a current practice. The second goal is to use the co-culture in the study of increasing myelin production using AuNP to deliver either N-acetylaspartate (NAA) or acetate to the oligodendrocytes. NAA is required to make myelin, getting cleaved by ASPA into acetate, a raw material used to produce the myelin sheaths. Our findings thus far indicate an increase in myelination in the AuNP NAA and acetate delivery, as well as increased differentiation in the co-cultures that are not treated with PMA or RA. Further research is being performed to determine quantitatively the amount of myelin that is produced as a result of the AuNP delivery system.<br/>

Development of neural/glial co-culture for remyelination studies in neurodegenerative disease

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.