By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage TodayPublished: January 03, 2012Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco andDorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner
Epstein-Barr virus may play a role in multiple sclerosis (MS) by activating innate immune responses, researchers found.Examination of postmortem brain tissue turned up RNA segments of the virus specifically in areas of active MS lesions overexpressing an inflammatory cytokine involved in innate immunity, according to a study by Ute C. Meier, DPhil, of Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues.That cytokine, interferon-alpha, was overexpressed in active areas of white matter MS lesions but not in inactive lesions, normal-appearing white matter, or normal brain tissue from controls, the group reported online in Neurology.
Epstein-Barr virus may play a role in multiple sclerosis (MS) by activating innate immune responses, researchers found.Examination of postmortem brain tissue turned up RNA segments of the virus specifically in areas of active MS lesions overexpressing an inflammatory cytokine involved in innate immunity, according to a study by Ute C. Meier, DPhil, of Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues.That cytokine, interferon-alpha, was overexpressed in active areas of white matter MS lesions but not in inactive lesions, normal-appearing white matter, or normal brain tissue from controls, the group reported online in Neurology.
Significantly higher densities of cells labeling for interferon-alpha were present in acute MS lesions (130 ± 9.4 cells/mm2) and active borders of chronic active MS lesions (114.8 ± 9.7 cells/mm2) compared with inactive MS lesions (18.22 ± 2.8 cells/mm2), normal-appearing white matter (4.4 ± 1.2 cells/mm2), and control tissue (12.25 ± 2 cells/mm2, P<0.0001).
“Perhaps [the subtle role] is not too surprising as Epstein-Barr virus is a persistent virus with the aim to coexist rather than eradicate the host,” the authors wrote.
The virus has a strong epidemiologic link to MS, they pointed out.
Individuals who have had a symptomatic case of infectious mononucleosis from Epstein-Barr virus are twice as likely to later develop MS, with risk appearing higher for smokers.
Determining the mechanism for the link to Epstein-Barr virus could aid in developing better treatments for the neurodegenerative disease, Meier’s group suggested, and there could be broader implications as well.
“Our study casts new light on mechanistic interactions of viral RNAs and innate immune activation in the [central nervous system], and may highlight the propensity of latent viral infections to contribute to neuroinflammation in the CNS, not only in multiple sclerosis but also in other neuroinflammatory diseases,” they wrote.
Their study revitalizes debate over how common Epstein-Barr virus-infected B cells are in MS brains and whether they are a driving factor, Jan D. Lünemann, of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, noted in an accompanying editorial.
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