Broader anti-EBV TCR repertoire in multiple sclerosis: disease specificity and treatment modulation
https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance- ... 44/7716181
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has long been associated with the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS patients have elevated titers of EBV-specific antibodies in serum and show signs of CNS damage only after EBV infection.
Regarding CD8+ T-cells, an elevated but ineffective response to EBV was suggested in MS patients, who present with a broader MHC-I-restricted EBV-specific T-cell receptor beta chain (TRB) repertoire compared to controls. It is not known whether this altered EBV response could be subject to dynamic changes, e.g., by approved MS therapies, and whether it is specific for MS.
1317 peripheral blood TRB repertoire samples of healthy donors (n=409), patients with MS (n=710) before and after treatment, patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (n=87), myelin-oligodendrocyte-glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (n=64) and Susac’s syndrome (n=47) were analyzed.
Apart from MS, none of the evaluated diseases presented with a broader anti-EBV TRB repertoire.
In MS patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, EBV reactivation coincided with elevated MHC-I-restricted EBV-specific TRB sequence matches. Therapy with ocrelizumab, teriflunomide or dimethyl fumarate reduced EBV-specific, but not CMV-specific MHC-I-restricted TRB sequence matches.
Together, this data suggests that the aberrant MHC-I-restricted T-cell response directed against EBV is specific to MS with regard to NMO, MOGAD and Susac’s Syndrome and that it is specifically modified by MS treatments interfering with EBV host cells or activated lymphocytes.
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EBV response as biomarker
Re: EBV response as biomarker
This line of thinking assumes that the immune system makes mistakes. But I'm not so sure about that. My manuscript viewtopic.php?p=262981#p262981 is built on the premise that the immune system responds to a herpes/EBV viral assault to prevent the onset of cancers, i.e. autoimmunity as paraneoplastic syndrome. All the rest is downstream including the reengineering of (specific) T cells.
It requires a change in the system, a change of the belief system, a change of the medical paradigm. And it has become apparent to me that precisely that is not so simple.
It requires a change in the system, a change of the belief system, a change of the medical paradigm. And it has become apparent to me that precisely that is not so simple.