ReviewMicroorganisms2026
Epstein-Barr Virus and Multiple Sclerosis: Mechanistic Insights into Virus-Driven Autoimmunity.
Review in Microorganisms, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system characterized by immune-mediated demyelination and neurodegeneration. Although the exact cause of MS remains unclear, accumulating epidemiological and immunological evidence strongly implicates Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection as a major environmental factor associated with disease development. Nearly all individuals with MS are EBV seropositive, and longitudinal studies have demonstrated that EBV infection precedes MS onset, supporting a causal relationship. EBV establishes lifelong latency in B cells and can profoundly influence host immune responses, providing several potential mechanisms through which it may contribute to autoimmunity. In this review, we summarize current knowledge of EBV biology and discuss epidemiological findings linking EBV infection with MS risk. We then examine alterations in EBV-specific immune responses observed in MS, including dysregulated humoral and cellular immunity. Particular attention is given to molecular mimicry involving the Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) and central nervous system proteins, which may promote cross-reactive autoimmune responses. Finally, we discuss evidence for the presence and potential role of EBV-infected immune cells within the MS brain and highlight key unanswered questions that remain critical for understanding EBV-driven neuroinflammation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.