August 3, 2026 /
July 28, 2026
n 2022, a team at Harvard University provided the strongest evidence to date that the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) is a trigger for MS. Now, an international team reports that CD4+ T cells (an important immune cell involved in MS) from people with MS respond about twice as strongly to specific EBV proteins produced during active viral infection compared with people without MS.
These heightened responses were not seen for other common viruses, suggesting a unique relationship between EBV and MS.The researchers also looked at blood samples obtained from people with MS who had been treated with B cell-depleting therapies. The results show that depleting B cells also resulted in reducing EVB-specific CD4+ T cells, and reduced the amount of EBV released into saliva, further strengthening the connections between EBV and MS.Together, these results provide important clues to how EBV may spur on MS.
They also give insight into how treatment strategies might be designed to prevent EBV from triggering MS.This study was partly funded by a National Multiple Sclerosis Society postdoctoral fellowship to author Dr. Natalia Drosu. Drosu is now funded by a Career Transition Fellowship from the Society to study whether unique immune responses to EBV infection can predict future MS disease activity.
Read more about this study in an article from Technology Networks.EBV is a critical target in the global plan to prevent MS.
Hear more about this global strategy in a RealTalk MS podcast.CD4+ T cells reactive to Epstein-Barr virus late lytic antigens are enriched in individuals with multiple sclerosis by Kjetil Bjornevik, João Vitor Mahler, Philippe A Bilodeau, Brit Ellen Rød, Gabriela Romanow, Takahisa Mikami, Monique Anderson, Natasha Bobrowski-Khoury, Huimin Zhu, James Nguyen, Ying Sun, Marcelo Matiello, David Housman, Bardia Nourbakhsh, Kjell-Morten Myhr, Øivind Torkildsen, Ludvig M Sollid, Michael Levy, and Natalia Drosu is published in Science Translational Medicine 2026 Jul 15;18(858):eadz6566.
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. Currently there is no cure. Symptoms vary from person to person and may include disabling fatigue, mobility challenges, cognitive changes, and vision issues. An estimated 1 million people live with MS in the United States. Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to minimize disability. Significant progress is being made to achieve a world free of MS.
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