Genetics

This blog post examines a 2022 study by Zahoor and colleagues that used blood-based untargeted metabolomics to investigate metabolic abnormalities in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The researchers identified a distinct metabolic profile in patients, including significant alterations in glycerophospholipid, sphingolipid, pyruvate, and citrate-cycle metabolism, all of which converged on glycolysis as a central upstream pathway. Functional experiments confirmed increased glycolytic activity in immune cells from patients with RRMS, while inhibition of glycolysis with 2-deoxy-D-glucose reduced inflammation, immune-cell infiltration, demyelination, and disease severity in experimental models of multiple sclerosis. The findings demonstrate how metabolomic profiling can move beyond biomarker discovery to reveal biologically testable therapeutic targets and highlight immunometabolism as a promising area for future MS research.