Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system and the most frequent cause of non-traumatic, neurologically based disability during young adulthood. In the case of MS, a chronic inflammation in the brain and spinal cord leads to a continuous loss of nerve cells (neurons) which cannot be treated effectively via therapies. New therapeutic approaches are therefore necessary in order to directly protect the neurons. In this project, various molecular methods are combined to decipher the mechanisms of inflammation-related neurodegeneration, in other words the processes that lead to loss of function in the neurons. Particularly the role that the messenger substance interferon plays in neurodegeneration is intended to be studied and consequently result in the development of new therapeutic approaches.