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A new study has revealed that multiple sclerosis could be halted by targeting cells that react to the Epstein-Barr virus.

Dr Éanna Fennell, a postdoctoral researcher at ��ɫ��Ƶ, was among the research team involved in this study, who are based at the Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zürich.

The study explored how infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a very common virus that infects 95% of the world’s adult population, may trigger multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common autoimmune disease affecting the brain and spinal cord.

The findings shed light on how the disease could be targeted by blocking the brain inflammation that is triggered by an infection with the EBV virus.

The research has just been published in world leading scientific journal Nature.

Dr Fennell, who is currently undertaking a fellowship at the University of Zürich, Switzerland explained: “Using lab mice with a human-like immune system, we found that after EBV infection, a certain group of immune cells, called B cells, become unusually active and preferentially travel into the brain, after which they release signals that attract other immune cells, called T cells.

“Together, these activated B and T cells cause inflammation and early damage to the brain - similar to what is believed to happen in the early stages of MS.

“After that, we used a common drug to remove these B cells and found much less T cells and their activation in the brain. This suggests that EBV may kick-start MS by reprogramming B cells to invade the brain and spark inflammation by attracting inflammatory T cells. Targeting these B cells early could help prevent or slow the development of MS.”

Having completed an IRC postdoctoral fellowship ��ɫ��Ƶ’s Bernal Institute on the role of the Epstein-Barr virus in the development of blood cancers, Dr Fennell was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie global fellowship to extend his work on EBV to look at its contribution to the pathogenesis of MS at the University of Zürich.

MS affects over 9,000 people in Ireland. Commenting on the significance of this breakthrough, Dr Fennell said:

“This work is important to the public because current treatments for MS do not target the root cause, they rely on long-term immunosuppressive drugs to manage symptoms. This study strengthens the link between EBV infection and the early development of MS, suggesting a new direction for more precise treatments.

“It could also renew interest in developing vaccines to prevent EBV infection in the first place, potentially reducing the risk of MS altogether,” he concluded.