Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a serious disease of autoimmune origin that is influenced by genetic predisposition, but also environmental factors, and one of them would be the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which recent scientific evidence has associated with its appearance. ; hence the importance of developing a vaccine to prevent EBV infection, which is also responsible for infectious mononucleosis or kissing disease.
Now, scientists at the QIMR Berghofer Institute of Medical Research (Australia) – in collaboration with the company Atara Biotherapeutics – have developed a vaccine candidate that has achieved potent and long-lasting immune protection against EBV in preclinical models, a breakthrough that could prevent this A type of viral infection, which has also been linked to malignancies such as Hodgkin lymphoma and nasopharyngeal cancer, and can be life-threatening in immunocompromised patients, such as transplant recipients.
The first results obtained have been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications and show that the vaccine induced potent and persistent humoral (antibody) and cellular (killer T-cell) immunity in preclinical models during primary and latent EBV infection. This immune response also killed or significantly retarded the growth of EBV-positive lymphoma tumor cells in laboratory models.
Effective long-term protection against EBV
Professor Rajiv Khanna AO of QIMR Berghofer, who has led the development of the vaccine and is also collaborating with Atara on ATA188 – a cell-based therapy that targets the root cause of multiple sclerosis and is currently in advanced phase 2 of clinical development – has stated that the study shows that the vaccine could provide effective long-term protection against EBV.
“Our vaccine formulation induces that killer T cell immune response, as well as the neutralizing antibody immune response.”
“Other vaccine efforts have focused on inducing neutralizing antibodies against the virus that block the infection of immune B cells during the primary acute infection,” explains the researcher, “but EBV in its latent state hides inside cells B, turning them into little virus factories ready to divide and spread when our immune defenses are down. It is our killer T cells that detect and control these infected B cells.” “Our vaccine formulation induces that killer T cell immune response, as well as the neutralizing antibody immune response.”
“We believe that, in susceptible individuals, EBV-infected B cells travel to the brain and cause inflammation and damage. If we can prevent this early in the infection, then the infected B cells cannot cause the development of a secondary disease such as multiple sclerosis,” says Professor Khanna.
Epstein-Barr virus has infected 95% of the adult population
EBV belongs to the herpesvirus family and at least 95% of the world’s adult population has been infected with this virus. During primary infection, the virus is usually transmitted through saliva and infects resting B cells or epithelial cells in the oropharynx. Primary EBV infection in children is asymptomatic or presents with mild symptoms, but it can cause severe disease in some people. Those who contract the virus in adolescence or youth can develop infectious mononucleosis, or glandular fever, which is a major risk factor for several diseases and cancers.
In fact, extensive research that followed more than 10 million people for 20 years found that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was probably the main cause of multiple sclerosis and that infection with this virus multiplied by 32 the risk of developing this disease.
