Study Reveals Link Between Epstein-Barr Virus and Autoimmune Diseases

Prevalence of Epstein-Barr Virus in the U.S.

A recent study sheds light on the connection between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections and the development of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, mononucleosis, and lupus. Approximately 90% of Americans have been infected with EBV, which is known to cause infectious mononucleosis, commonly referred to as mono. There is growing scientific evidence that EBV is also associated with multiple autoimmune disorders, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus). Remarkably, an EBV infection in children can increase the risk of developing lupus by as much as 50 times. However, there has been a notable lack of comprehensive studies exploring this phenomenon at the molecular level.

Genetic Insights into Autoimmune Disorders

Previous research has identified over 50 regions within the genome associated with lupus, known as risk loci. Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio sought to determine whether proteins produced due to an EBV infection could bind to and interact with these lupus risk loci. Their findings were recently published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Role of EBNA2 in Autoimmunity

Utilizing computational analyses, the authors detected strong associations between an EBV gene product called EBNA2 and lupus risk loci. Their analysis indicated that more than half of these loci were predicted to interact with EBNA2. Additionally, the team explored other autoimmune diseases and discovered that EBNA2 also elevates the risk of developing six additional immune disorders: multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and celiac disease. The findings revealed that many transcription factors related to EBNA2, which are inherently involved in inflammation pathways, also bind to risk loci associated with these autoimmune conditions.

Implications of the Study’s Findings

The results of this research underscore the significance of certain proteins and factors that may play crucial roles in various autoimmune diseases. These proteins could serve as a foundation for future studies aimed at developing targeted treatment strategies for autoimmunity. The work of this research group enhances our understanding of how viral infections may influence the genetic risk of seemingly unrelated diseases. Moreover, their innovative computational methods for analyzing genomic and biological data could be applicable to a broad range of diseases, potentially illuminating further gene-environment interactions.

Conclusion

Written by Branson Chen, BHSc, this study provides a crucial step towards understanding the complex interplay between viral infections and autoimmune disease susceptibility.

Reference

Harley JB, Chen X, Pujato M, Miller D, Maddox A, Forney C, Magnusen AF, Lynch A, Chetal K, Yukawa M, Barski A. Transcription factors operate across disease loci, with EBNA2 implicated in autoimmunity. Nature Genetics. 2018 Apr 16:1.