![\"Larry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20241025+Larry+Sherman+1_f1c79094-dd7c-40d3-b8a6-915420e02f53-prv.jpg\" "\\"Larry")
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Larry Sherman, Ph.D., professor at OHSU\u2019s Oregon National Primate Research Center, led research identifying the enzyme CEMIP as a key player in myelin breakdown linked to conditions like multiple sclerosis, stroke, and Alzheimer\u2019s disease. (OHSU\/Christine Torres Hicks)<\/p>\n
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have identified a type of enzyme with a complicated name \u2014 cell migration inducing and hyaluronan-binding protein, or CEMIP \u2014 is associated with disorders ranging from multiple sclerosis to stroke to neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
The next step is to develop a way to target the enzyme to heal or slow the progression of disease.<\/p>\n
In a study published in the journal ASN Neuro<\/a>, researchers describe their path to implicating CEMIP in cell culture, mice and deceased human tissue. Researchers found this specific enzyme is critical in conditions involving the breakdown of myelin, the protective sheath that covers each nerve cell\u2019s axon \u2014 the threadlike portion of a cell that transmits electrical signals between cells. Myelin increases the speed of nerve impulses.<\/p>\n Damage to myelin is associated with multiple sclerosis, stroke, brain injuries and certain forms of dementia including Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n CEMIP breaks down a molecule called hyaluronic acid, which builds up in the brain after damage. When too much hyaluronic acid accumulates, CEMIP forms small hyaluronic fragments that prevent nervous system repair.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we could regulate this enzyme, we might have a handle on promoting central nervous system repair,\u201d said senior author Larry Sherman, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Neuroscience at OHSU\u2019s Oregon National Primate Research Center. \u201cIt gives us a better idea of which molecules are worth going after if we want to promote myelin repair. This will be important for multiple sclerosis, but it also could be useful Alzheimer\u2019s and probably a lot of other conditions such as stroke or traumatic brain injury where myelin becomes disrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n Scientists previously established<\/a> CEMIP\u2019s role in producing inflammatory molecules that can promote the survival and progression of cancer cells to form brain tumors.<\/p>\n