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. 2019 Jun 27;20(13):3145.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20133145.

Does the Epstein-Barr Virus Play a Role in the Pathogenesis of Graves' Disease?

Aleksandra Pyzik  1   2 , Ewelina Grywalska  3 , Beata Matyjaszek-Matuszek  4 , Jarosław Ludian  5 , Ewa Kiszczak-Bochyńska  4 , Agata Smoleń  6 , Jacek Roliński  5   7 , Dawid Pyzik  8
Affiliations

Does the Epstein-Barr Virus Play a Role in the Pathogenesis of Graves' Disease?

Aleksandra Pyzik et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Graves' disease (GD) it the most common chronic organ-specific thyroid disorder without a fully recognized etiology. The pathogenesis of the disease accounts for an interaction between genetic, environmental, and immunological factors. The most important environmental factors include viral and bacterial infections. The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is one of the most common latent human viruses. Literature has suggested its role in the development of certain allergic and autoimmune diseases. EBV also exhibits oncogenic properties. The aim of the study was to analyze and compare the presence of EBV DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with newly recognized GD and to find a correlation between EBV infection and the clinical picture of GD. The study included 39 untreated patients with newly diagnosed GD and a control group of 20 healthy volunteers who were gender and age matched. EBV DNA was detected with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) assay. The studies showed a significantly higher incidence of EBV copies in PBMCs among GD patients compared to the control group. Whereas, no significant correlations were found between the incidence of EBV copies and the evaluated clinical parameters. Our results suggest a probable role of EBV in GD development. EBV infection does not affect the clinical picture of Graves' disease.

Keywords: EBV; Graves’ disease; autoimmune thyroid disease; hyperthyroidism; viruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pathogenesis of Graves’ disease (GD). * viral and bacterial infections, iodine, stress, medications, external radiation, radioactive iodine, toxins, selenium and vitamin D3 deficiency, lymphopenia, smoking, CD8+ T lymphocyte deficiency [5,6,7,8,9,10,11].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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