Differential serostatus of Epstein-Barr virus in Iranian MS patients with various clinical patterns

Background: Epidemiological evidence suggests a role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in triggering the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to assess the EBV-specific antibodies in MS patients with various clinical patterns and their association with the production of IFN-γ, IL-12, and IL-4 cytokines compared with healthy individuals. Methods: We measured EBNA-1 IgG, VCA IgG, and production of IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-4 cytokines in patients with different clinical patterns and healthy controls using ELISA method. Results: There was a higher titer of anti-EBV antibodies in MS patients compared to healthy controls. SPMS patients generated higher EBNA-1 levels than those with RRMS and PPMS patients whereas; the level of VCA IgG was higher in the RRMS patients than PPMS. In PPMS patients, a significant increase was found in IFN-γ and IL-12 cytokines compared to other subtypes, whereas IL-4 cytokine had a decreased level compared to RRMS patients. Higher anti-EBV antibodies are associated with increased IL-12 cytokine in RRMS patients. However, no significant correlation was found between these antibodies and other secreted cytokines. Conclusion: EBV infection is one of the strong risk factors for MS. Acting on these factors could be useful to decrease the incidence and disease exacerbation of MS. Study of the antibody levels to EBV virus could be useful for evaluating MS risk score in each clinical subtypes.