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▎WuXi AppTec content team editor Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease related to the central nervous system.
The myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord of patients will be continuously damaged, resulting in severe symptoms such as neuritis and even limb paralysis
.
It is estimated that around 2.
8 million people worldwide are affected by MS, but because the scientific community still does not know the cause of the disease, it is difficult for patients to obtain an effective cure
.
However, scientists are not completely clueless about this disease.
At least a large number of serum samples have been tested to point to a possible suspect - EBV (Epstein-Barr virus), which belongs to the Herpesviridae family of lymphotropic viruses and specifically attacks B cells
.
Some research studies have found that, compared with healthy people, nearly 99.
5% of MS patients have EBV antibodies in the serum
.
However, it is difficult to specifically determine the relationship between EBV and MS, because most adults have been infected with EBV, and it is impossible to determine the specific time of virus infection, and it is impossible to clearly determine whether the disease began to be related to the virus
.
Recently, new research in Science shatters that limitation, with a Harvard research team conducting a refined study of more than 10 million active-duty U.
S.
military personnel over the past 20 years
.
▲Schematic diagram of the study (Image source: Reference [2]) They collect serum samples from soldiers every two years to determine the EBV infection status at the first sampling, as well as the EBV infection and MS incidence during service
.
In all populations, a total of 801 MS patients emerged, of whom 35 were EBV antibody negative at the beginning of the investigation, and 34 of these patients turned EBV antibody positive before the onset of disease
.
Of the 801 patients, almost all were EBV antibody positive at onset (one patient was negative), and these results point to a possibility that EBV induces MS
.
According to the analysis of the study, the risk of developing MS increased by 32 times after infection with EBV, while infection with other viruses did not change
.
▲ EBV under the electron microscope (Image source: wikipedia, CC BY2.
5, credit: Liza Gross) In addition, a marker called neurofilament light chain protein appears in the blood of MS patients, and in the analysis of the research team, This marker increased only after EBV infection
.
The researchers pointed out that there is a certain delay between EBV infection and the onset of MS.
One possibility is that the disease was not correctly diagnosed in the early stages, and the second possibility is that EBV interacts with the immune system and the virus is repeatedly activated.
lead to the production of MS
.
Why does this B-cell-loving virus end up causing neurological disease? Some current research suggests that infected B cells may be part of the cause
.
B cells and plasmablasts from MS patients express integrin a4, an adhesive protein that allows them to move from the bone marrow to the peripheral circulation and finally across the blood-brain barrier
.
These cells eventually secrete glial cells that can target myelin-producing cells, disrupting their function
.
Many studies have found EBV-infected B cells in the brains of MS patients, suggesting that the pathogenic mechanism of EBV is related to B cells
.
"There is currently no effective prevention and treatment of EBV infection, but the development of EBV vaccines or specific drugs may help us to prevent and treat MS
.
" The study's lead author Professor Alberto Ascherio said
.
Reference: [1] Epstein-Barr virus may be leading cause of multiple sclerosis.
Retrieved Jan 13th, 2022 from https:// “Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein -Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis”, Kjetil Bjornevik, Marianna Cortese, Brian C.
Healy, Jens Kuhle, Michael J.
Mina, Yumei Leng, Stephen J.
Elledge, David W.
Niebuhr, Ann I.
Scher, Kassandra L.
Munger , Alberto Ascherio, Science, January 13, 2022, doi: 10.
1126/science.
abj8222
The myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord of patients will be continuously damaged, resulting in severe symptoms such as neuritis and even limb paralysis
.
It is estimated that around 2.
8 million people worldwide are affected by MS, but because the scientific community still does not know the cause of the disease, it is difficult for patients to obtain an effective cure
.
However, scientists are not completely clueless about this disease.
At least a large number of serum samples have been tested to point to a possible suspect - EBV (Epstein-Barr virus), which belongs to the Herpesviridae family of lymphotropic viruses and specifically attacks B cells
.
Some research studies have found that, compared with healthy people, nearly 99.
5% of MS patients have EBV antibodies in the serum
.
However, it is difficult to specifically determine the relationship between EBV and MS, because most adults have been infected with EBV, and it is impossible to determine the specific time of virus infection, and it is impossible to clearly determine whether the disease began to be related to the virus
.
Recently, new research in Science shatters that limitation, with a Harvard research team conducting a refined study of more than 10 million active-duty U.
S.
military personnel over the past 20 years
.
▲Schematic diagram of the study (Image source: Reference [2]) They collect serum samples from soldiers every two years to determine the EBV infection status at the first sampling, as well as the EBV infection and MS incidence during service
.
In all populations, a total of 801 MS patients emerged, of whom 35 were EBV antibody negative at the beginning of the investigation, and 34 of these patients turned EBV antibody positive before the onset of disease
.
Of the 801 patients, almost all were EBV antibody positive at onset (one patient was negative), and these results point to a possibility that EBV induces MS
.
According to the analysis of the study, the risk of developing MS increased by 32 times after infection with EBV, while infection with other viruses did not change
.
▲ EBV under the electron microscope (Image source: wikipedia, CC BY2.
5, credit: Liza Gross) In addition, a marker called neurofilament light chain protein appears in the blood of MS patients, and in the analysis of the research team, This marker increased only after EBV infection
.
The researchers pointed out that there is a certain delay between EBV infection and the onset of MS.
One possibility is that the disease was not correctly diagnosed in the early stages, and the second possibility is that EBV interacts with the immune system and the virus is repeatedly activated.
lead to the production of MS
.
Why does this B-cell-loving virus end up causing neurological disease? Some current research suggests that infected B cells may be part of the cause
.
B cells and plasmablasts from MS patients express integrin a4, an adhesive protein that allows them to move from the bone marrow to the peripheral circulation and finally across the blood-brain barrier
.
These cells eventually secrete glial cells that can target myelin-producing cells, disrupting their function
.
Many studies have found EBV-infected B cells in the brains of MS patients, suggesting that the pathogenic mechanism of EBV is related to B cells
.
"There is currently no effective prevention and treatment of EBV infection, but the development of EBV vaccines or specific drugs may help us to prevent and treat MS
.
" The study's lead author Professor Alberto Ascherio said
.
Reference: [1] Epstein-Barr virus may be leading cause of multiple sclerosis.
Retrieved Jan 13th, 2022 from https:// “Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein -Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis”, Kjetil Bjornevik, Marianna Cortese, Brian C.
Healy, Jens Kuhle, Michael J.
Mina, Yumei Leng, Stephen J.
Elledge, David W.
Niebuhr, Ann I.
Scher, Kassandra L.
Munger , Alberto Ascherio, Science, January 13, 2022, doi: 10.
1126/science.
abj8222
