Scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet have made a major breakthrough in understanding how a common virus could be linked to multiple sclerosis (MS), a serious disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. Their findings, published in Science Advances, help explain why some people might develop MS after being infected with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
EBV is one of the most common viruses in the world. Over 90% of people get it at some point in their lives. Most people catch it in childhood and don’t feel very sick. However, if teenagers or young adults get infected, it can lead to a condition called infectious mononucleosis, also known as glandular fever or the “kissing disease.”
Although EBV often stays in the body without causing any further problems, scientists have suspected for years that it may be linked to the development of MS. MS is a condition where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the brain and spinal cord, leading to problems with balance, coordination, movement, and fatigue.
While past studies have shown that people often get infected with EBV before developing MS, the exact reason why this happens has remained unclear—until now.
The research team, led by Olivia Thomas and Mattias Bronge at Karolinska Institutet, studied blood samples from over 700 people with MS and 700 healthy individuals. They were looking for antibodies—special proteins the immune system uses to fight off infections.
They found that some people had antibodies that were originally meant to fight a protein in EBV called EBNA1. However, these same antibodies also mistakenly targeted a similar-looking protein in the brain and spinal cord called CRYAB.
CRYAB normally helps protect brain cells during times of stress or inflammation. But when antibodies confuse it with the EBV protein, they start attacking it. This mistaken attack can cause damage to nerve cells, which may lead to MS symptoms.
The researchers found that about 23% of MS patients had these harmful antibodies, compared to just 7% of people without MS. This suggests that the antibody confusion may play a role in the disease, at least in some patients. While it’s not the only cause of MS, it could help explain why some people are more likely to develop the condition after having EBV.
The study also looked at T cells, which are another part of the immune system. These cells also seem to get confused between the virus and the brain’s proteins, adding more evidence that the immune response to EBV might go wrong in people who develop MS.
The team is now doing further research to understand how these T cells behave and how they might contribute to the ongoing damage in MS. This could eventually lead to more personalized and effective treatments for people living with the disease.
In short, this study gives scientists a better understanding of how EBV might trigger MS in some people. It’s a big step forward in solving the mystery of this complex disease and could lead to better ways to treat or even prevent it in the future.
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