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. 2024 Nov 1;134(21):e184481.
doi: 10.1172/JCI184481.

Accumulation of Epstein-Barr virus-induced cross-reactive immune responses is associated with multiple sclerosis

Hannes Vietzen  1 , Laura M Kühner  1 , Sarah M Berger  1 , Philippe L Furlano  1 , Gabriel Bsteh  2   3 , Thomas Berger  2   3 , Paulus Rommer  2   3 , Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl  1
Affiliations

Accumulation of Epstein-Barr virus-induced cross-reactive immune responses is associated with multiple sclerosis

Hannes Vietzen et al. J Clin Invest. .
No abstract available

Keywords: Autoimmune diseases; Autoimmunity; Multiple sclerosis; Virology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The study was funded by the Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna. HV received a research grant from the Austrian MS society.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Accumulation of EBNA381–452–mediated immune responses is associated with MS.
(A–D) EBNA-specific IgG antibody responses were assessed in n = 270 MS patients and n = 270 healthy controls using indicated (A) EBNA381–452–derived peptides or (B) individual EBNA386–405–,EBNA393–412–,EBNA409–428–,EBNA426–445–, or corresponding CNS-derived GlialCAM370–389–,CRYAB2–21–,MBP205–224-,or ANO2135–154 peptides. IgG antibody responses were assessed at the time point of MS diagnosis or a matched time point for controls (T1; A and B) and during primary EBV infection (T0; A). The dashed black line indicates the cut-off for detection. (C and D) High-level EBNA-specific or CNS-specific antibody levels were first defined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis (Supplemental Table 2) and then compared between MS patients and controls. (E) Distribution of high-level EBNA-specific or CNS-specific CD19+ B cell (Figure 1B), CD4+ T cell (C), and CD8+ T cell (D) levels was defined by ROC analysis (Supplemental Table 2) and then compared between n = 20 MS patients and n = 80 healthy controls. Statistical differences were assessed by (A) Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s multiple-comparison test, (B) Mann-Whitney U test, (C–E) and χ2 test. ABs, antibodies; HC, healthy control; T, timepoint.
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