Mary Wilson
Well-known member
Published: 16 July 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-022-01100-0
Ruirui He, Yanyun Du & Chenhui Wang
In a recent study published in Science, Bjornevik and colleagues demonstrated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is a trigger for multiple sclerosis (MS) in a longitudinal analysis of more than 10 million US military individuals who were on active duty.[SUP]1[/SUP]
MS is an autoimmune disease that originates in the central nervous system characterized by inflammatory demyelinating lesions. There is no consensus on the etiology of MS. However, we all know that MS is a multifactorial disease which can be influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors associated with MS risk are mainly major histocompatibility class II (MHC II) alleles (e.g., HLA-DRB1*15:01, the earliest identified and most dominant risk factor in MS) and MHC I alleles (e.g., HLA-A*02 and HLA B*44, decreasing MS susceptibility). Additionally, more than 200 genetic loci have been identified to be associated with the risk of MS,[SUP]2[/SUP] but only a few specific genes or biological mechanisms of the identified genetic loci have been studied. Specific environmental exposures including ultraviolet radiation/vitamin D deficiency, cigarette smoking, diet, and viral infections have influence on the incidence of MS. Viral infection is one of the crucial environmental factors and most researches have focused on EBV, a highly B cell-tropic human herpesvirus, which infects about 95% of individuals worldwide. Significantly elevated risk of MS after EBV infection compared with EBV seronegative individuals supports a link between EBV infection and MS.[SUP]3[/SUP] In addition, anti-EBNAs antibody elevated in blood of MS patients, which can be detected years before MS onset.[SUP]4[/SUP] Although the hypothesis that EBV causes MS has been studied for many years, clear causality remains inconclusive.
In this study, Bjornevik et al. gave direct evidence that EBV infection is a critical contributor of MS based on a large cohort of more than 10 million young adults in the US military. Among this large population, 955 individuals of them were diagnosed with MS during their active-duty. In a 20-year collaboration with US military between 1993 and 2013, the authors collected up to three serum samples for each MS case before the date of disease onset (Fig. 1).
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-022-01100-0#citeas
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-022-01100-0
Ruirui He, Yanyun Du & Chenhui Wang
In a recent study published in Science, Bjornevik and colleagues demonstrated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is a trigger for multiple sclerosis (MS) in a longitudinal analysis of more than 10 million US military individuals who were on active duty.[SUP]1[/SUP]
MS is an autoimmune disease that originates in the central nervous system characterized by inflammatory demyelinating lesions. There is no consensus on the etiology of MS. However, we all know that MS is a multifactorial disease which can be influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors associated with MS risk are mainly major histocompatibility class II (MHC II) alleles (e.g., HLA-DRB1*15:01, the earliest identified and most dominant risk factor in MS) and MHC I alleles (e.g., HLA-A*02 and HLA B*44, decreasing MS susceptibility). Additionally, more than 200 genetic loci have been identified to be associated with the risk of MS,[SUP]2[/SUP] but only a few specific genes or biological mechanisms of the identified genetic loci have been studied. Specific environmental exposures including ultraviolet radiation/vitamin D deficiency, cigarette smoking, diet, and viral infections have influence on the incidence of MS. Viral infection is one of the crucial environmental factors and most researches have focused on EBV, a highly B cell-tropic human herpesvirus, which infects about 95% of individuals worldwide. Significantly elevated risk of MS after EBV infection compared with EBV seronegative individuals supports a link between EBV infection and MS.[SUP]3[/SUP] In addition, anti-EBNAs antibody elevated in blood of MS patients, which can be detected years before MS onset.[SUP]4[/SUP] Although the hypothesis that EBV causes MS has been studied for many years, clear causality remains inconclusive.
In this study, Bjornevik et al. gave direct evidence that EBV infection is a critical contributor of MS based on a large cohort of more than 10 million young adults in the US military. Among this large population, 955 individuals of them were diagnosed with MS during their active-duty. In a 20-year collaboration with US military between 1993 and 2013, the authors collected up to three serum samples for each MS case before the date of disease onset (Fig. 1).
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-022-01100-0#citeas