ReSToRe will test a new therapeutic approach based on patients’ own cells. This cell therapy, a type of personalised medicine, is currently being lined up for an initial Phase 1 study in patients with MS. The researchers have developed what are known as ‘tolerance-inducing’ or tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDC) – a special category of immune cells that function as the immune system’s master switch.

In MS, the immune system has derailed, setting a cascade of processes in motion that ultimately results in damage to the body’s own cells and molecules.

After being treated with vitamin D in a laboratory, tolDC are re-administered to the patient and are then able to re-educate the patient’s immune system, interfering directly with the underlying disease processes.

Investigating the safety and feasibility of the vaccine will be a crucial step in the development of novel treatment strategies for MS. In order to perform this clinical trial, the researchers received support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, enabling collaboration among several EU research institutes and companies.

Our Mission

H2020 Restore’s goal

This project is based on the major progress that has been made in the understanding and treatment of MS and focuses on the development of more selective immunomodulatory therapies with fewer side effects and with the potential for long-term disease remission. The overall goal of the ReSToRe project is to assess the safety and demonstrate first proof-of-concept of administering clinical-grade vitamin D₃-treated tolDC loaded with myelin-derived peptides via different administration routes to treat a well-defined subpopulation of MS patients.

What is MS? Context of the problem

In young adults, multiple sclerosis (MS) is the main cause of non-traumatic neurological disability with no cure available to date. Around 500,000 people in Europe and 2.5 million people worldwide suffer from MS.

Dendritic cells

DC are a highly specialized population of white blood cells that are capable of orchestrating the immune responses. In their immature state, DC reside in the peripheral tissues, such as the skin, airways and intestine, where they function as the “sentinels” of the immune system, i.e. they patrol the body to capture antigens, including self-antigens, invading pathogens and certain malignant cells.

Who is who

University of Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium

Universidad Navarra (UNAV), Spain

Icometrix, Leuven, Belgium

Lygature, the Netherlands

Catalan Institute of Health (ICS)

Sanquin

Wilhelms University Münster, Germany

News & Events

The latest news & developments from the H2020 Restore project.

30th May 2021

The ReSToRe team supports World MS Day

Today is World MS Day. It is the day that individuals and organizations from all over the world unite to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis. By making more people understand what life with MS is like, more people will feel compelled to do something about it. With the entire international ReSToRe team, we are committed to find a solution for this devastating disease by bringing an antigen-specific tolerance-inducing dendritic cell (tolDC) therapy to treat MS patients to the clinic. Today, we have completed patient recruitment in both phase I clinical trials in Belgium and Spain. In total, 3 cohorts of 3 patients or 18 patients have received the treatment and we are finalizing the safety follow-up. We expect the first results of the safety studies of this innovative cell-based therapy by the end of the year. If this phase is successfully completed, a larger group of patients can be treated in phase II clinical trials. Only then, information about effectiveness of the treatment will be collected. These phase II studies are scheduled for 2022. Recruitment for these trials has not started yet. By connecting researchers, clinicians and patients, the ReSToRe consortium is helping to build a community that strives to beat MS.

11th September 2018

September 2018 H2020 ReSToRe researchers meet at the European Congress of Immunology

Professor Marieke Vanham, partner of the H2020 ReSToRe project and ECI congress president, hosts the 5th European Congress of Immunology (ECI) in Amsterdam from September 2-5, 2018. During the meeting, basic and clinical researchers can dive into immunology and discuss science. But there is more, ample exposure will be given to the research performed by H2020 ReSToRe collaborators. Eva Martinez-Caceres of the Catalan Institute of Health (Badalona, Spain) was invited to the ECI meeting to present her work on the development of a vitamin D3-treated tolDC vaccine for the treatment of MS. Others will present their research at the various poster sessions.

3rd September 2018

Professor Cools will represent ReSToRe at the International Society for Cellular Therapy in Firenze

Nathalie Cools of the University of Antwerp (Belgium) was invited to the International Society for Cellular Therapy in Firenze, Italy, to present the first safety and feasibility results of the ongoing clinical trial.

29th August 2018

Our Facebook page was launched

From now on, you can follow our work and activities on Facebook as well! Like and share…

Contact us

Patient information

A translation will be available soon.

Patiënt informatie

Dit is een medisch-wetenschappelijk onderzoek, meer bepaald een open-label fase I klinische studie, beperkt tot België en Spanje waaraan in totaal een twintigtal patiënten zullen deelnemen. Hieronder vindt u, geheel vrijblijvend, meer informatie over de studie. Indien u dat wenst, kan u deze informatie ook delen en bespreken met uw neuroloog.

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Información del paciente

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Informationen zum Patienten

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Information du patient

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