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- New research has discovered why the Epstein-Barr virus (EPV) may contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Some antibodies the body produces to fight infection can mistakenly attack the brain and spinal cord, damaging the nervous system.
- This can contribute to balance and mobility problems associated with MS.
- However, since a majority of people get EPV early in life while only a small percentage develop MS, experts say other mechanisms such as genetic risk factors may also be at play.
A new report sheds light on how Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can contribute to the development of multiple sclerosis (MS).
According to resultsPosted in Scientists progress On Wednesday, certain antibodies the body produces to fight infection can mistakenly attack the brain and spinal cord, damaging the nervous system and contributing to balance and mobility problems associated with MS.
Additionally, T cells, another part of the immune response that provides protection against infection, can also misfire and attack the nervous system.
Previous evidence suggests that EBV infection is a prerequisite for MS, and scientists are just beginning to uncover the mechanisms by which the virus can contribute to the development of chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system.
More than 90% of the population has had EBV infection, but only a small percentage develop MS, suggesting that other mechanisms – such as genetic risk factors – are at play.
“This new paper supports many other studies that indicate that molecular mimicry is a major way in which EBV infection contributes to the development of MS. Molecular mimicry is the idea that when the immune system targets EBV, sometimes it also ends up targeting human proteins that resemble EBV proteins,” said Dr. Michael Syassistant professor at the Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Medicine, Healthline told Healthline.
To better understand how EBV can trigger MS in some people, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden looked at blood samples from 713 people with MS and 722 healthy people.
They found that the antibodies the body produces to fight infection, called EBNA1, can also bind to a protein, called CRYAB, located in the brain’s spinal cord that protects the body from the harmful effects of inflammation.
When EBNA1 antibodies bind to CRYAB proteins, as the study suggests, they could damage the nervous system, leading to MS problems related to balance, mobility and fatigue.
Misdirected antibodies were detected in about 23% of people with MS and 7% of those who were healthy.
“In MS, the immune system targets molecules in the brain’s myelin sheath that resemble EBV molecules, leading to brain and spinal cord damage,” Sy said.
There also appears to be cross-reactivity between T cells, which the body also stimulates to produce antibodies that fight infections.
“It seems highly likely that these misdirected cross-reacting B cells, antibodies, and T cells influence neuroinflammation and contribute to disease,” Dr Tobie Lanzassistant professor of immunology and rheumatology at Stanford Medicine who trained in neurology, says.
Most people, about 90%, are infected with EBV early in life.
The virus remains in the body, dormant, usually without causing symptoms.
For years, scientists have known that there is a link between EBV and MS, with previous research suggesting that the risk of MS increases 32 times after EBV infection.
A big study from 2022 found that almost 100% of people with MS had already been infected with EBV.
“Studies indicate that infection with the Epstein-Barr virus is necessary to develop MS. It seems almost impossible to get MS if you haven’t been infected with EBV before,” says Sy.
Not everyone infected with EBV develops MS, and some otherwise healthy people may have these antibodies and never develop MS.
“Other genetic and environmental risk factors likely add an additional risk of developing the disease,” says Lanz.
The variability of immune responses and how they affect the nervous system indicate that MS prevention must be highly personalized, the researchers say.
Eradication or suppression of EBV can also help prevent future cases of MS, Sy says.
And, according to Lanz, these findings could help scientists develop an EBV vaccine that will help prevent MS.
“Currently, there is no specific treatment for EBV in MS. But understanding the exact mechanisms will likely reveal EBV molecules that could be targeted directly,” Lanz said.
New research has discovered why the Epstein-Barr virus may contribute to multiple sclerosis.
According to the report, certain antibodies the body produces to fight infection can mistakenly attack the brain and spinal cord, damaging the nervous system and contributing to balance and mobility problems associated with MS.
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