UNVEILING THE ROLE OF SUMOYLATION AS NOVEL MOLECULAR PATHWAY IN MYELIN BIOLOGY; IMPLICATION IN NEURODEVELOPMENT AND DEMYELINATING PATHOPHYSIOLOGY.

SUMOMyePath: a New Pathway to Wrestle Demyelinating diseases.

(Re)myelination is the process by which Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells (OPCs) migrate and differentiate and mature into myelin generating Oligodendrocytes (OLs). Understanding this process is key to cure demyelinating disorders of which, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), is the most prevalent, affecting 2.8 million individuals worldwide and specially women (69%). SUMOylation is a post-translational modification mainly studied in neurons within the central nervous system, however its pathway’s role in oligodendroglia and its relation with myelin (patho)physiology remains to be investigated. Thus, it is an exciting field to explore and SUMOMyePath will address this challenge by synergizing the applicant’s experience in SUMOylation and myelin biology and the expertise of 1) the host group´s (UniTo) in OPCs biology and 2) the secondment group´s (Ubx) in state-of-art live-imaging of OL lineage cells, opening novel avenues of research and, as consequence, new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.