An overview on the relationship between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) of presumed autoimmune origin. Currently, MS is considered a multifaceted demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease in whose pathogenesis both genetic predisposition and environmental factors are involved. An association between MS and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), an ubiquitous human γ-herpesvirus, derives primarily by the fact that MS patients are characterized by high levels of EBV-specific antibodies and that in several studies these antibodies correlate to clinical variables. However, the literature on the possible etiological role of EBV is still conflicting. This lecture aims at giving an overview on the use of EBV-specific antibodies as biomarkers in course of MS and on the mechanisms which could explain the pathogenetic role of EBV in immune-mediated diseases such as MS.