Role of EBV in Autoimmunity and Multiple Sclerosis

New Insights at the 3rd Joint EBV-KSHV Symposium

Posted on August 27, 2024  •  3 minutes  • 466 words

New Insights at the 3rd Joint EBV-KSHV International Symposium: A Dive into the Role of EBV in Autoimmunity and Multiple Sclerosis

The 3rd Joint Meeting of the International Symposium on EBV, KSHV - Related Agents and Diseases was held in Boston from June 29th to July 3rd, 2024. This marked a significant gathering for researchers working on Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), Kaposi Sarcoma Herpes Virus (KSHV), and other gamma herpesviruses to come together and share their most recent and exciting results. This year’s meeting was also the occasion to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the discovery of EBV and the 40th anniversary of the discovery of KSHV, while also paying tribute to the life and the work of Sir Anthony Epstein, a pioneering virologist who co-discovered EBV and whose legacy continues to inspire the scientific community.

The 4-day intensive programme of the EBV-KSHV meeting represented fertile ground for scientific discussion, exchange of ideas and the establishment of new collaborations. The role played by EBV in the context of autoimmunity was of course front and center of these conversations, and an entire session was dedicated to it. The work presented highlighted how studying the response to EBV in the context of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) could provide insight into the pathogenic processes at the base of the disease. Three works, presented respectively by Dr J. Lindsey (UTHealth Houston, Texas, USA), Dr G. Taylor (University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom), and Dr O. Thomas (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden) investigated how the immune response directed against EBV could wrongly recognise proteins normally expressed in the central nervous system and be at the origin of the autoimmune reaction observed in people with MS.

The work presented by Dr P. Lieberman (Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, USA) highlighted how B cell infected by EBV in people with MS differ from those of healthy individuals and seem to be characterised by a more inflammatory behaviour which appears to be sensitive to treatment with specific antiviral drugs. Dr M. T. Weirauch (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, USA) reported instead on a new study on the ability of the EBV protein EBNA2 to bind to and drive the expression of human risk loci associated not only to MS, but also to other autoimmune diseases. This interesting work was further presented during the poster session by Marissa Granitto (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, USA), showing the importance of investigating how EBV can interfere with the normal cellular processes in the B cells of people with MS.

The 3rd Joint EBV-KSHV International Symposium was a vital platform for reflecting on past discoveries and exploring the latest insights into EBV’s role in autoimmunity, especially in MS. The discussions underscored the need for continued research into how EBV contributes to autoimmune diseases, with the goal of developing new therapeutic strategies to address these conditions.