Department of Pathology, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, IRYCIS, Madrid, Spain.
Mult Scler. 2011 Nov;17(11):1295-300. doi: 10.1177/1352458511411063. Epub 2011 Jul 14.
The existence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) strains specifically associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) is a matter of controversy. Little is also known about the prevalence of EBV types 1 and 2 in MS patients and the presence of co-infections by both strains.
To make EBV strain type assignment and compare the frequencies of types 1, 2 and co-infections by both in MS patients and healthy controls.
Blood samples from 75 consecutive MS patients and 186 controls were collected. EBV was simultaneously detected and typed using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which amplified a strain-specific sequence in the EBV nuclear antigen 2.
EBV was detected in 70 out of 75 patients (93.3%) and in 123 of 186 controls (66.1%). Among positive cases, type 1 was found in 6 patients (8.6%) and 40 controls (32.5%), type 2 in 1 patient (1.4%) and 37 controls (30.1%), and dual-infections by both EBV types were detected in 63 patients (90%) and 46 controls (37.4%). Logistic regression models showed that MS was significantly associated with the presence of EBV (p < 0.001) and also with dual type infections (p < 0.001).
This study provides molecular evidence associating co-infection of type 1 and 2 EBV with MS.
与多发性硬化症（MS）相关的 Epstein-Barr 病毒（EBV）株的存在是一个有争议的问题。关于 MS 患者中 EBV 1 型和 2 型的流行情况以及两种菌株同时感染的情况也知之甚少。
进行 EBV 株型鉴定，并比较 MS 患者和健康对照者中 1 型、2 型和两种病毒同时感染的频率。
收集了 75 例连续 MS 患者和 186 例对照者的血液样本。使用聚合酶链反应（PCR）同时检测和分型 EBV，该方法扩增 EBV 核抗原 2 中的株特异性序列。
75 例患者中有 70 例（93.3%）和 186 例对照者中有 123 例（66.1%）检测到 EBV。在阳性病例中，6 例（8.6%）患者和 40 例对照者（32.5%）中发现 1 型，1 例（1.4%）患者和 37 例对照者（30.1%）中发现 2 型，63 例（90%）患者和 46 例对照者（37.4%）中发现两种病毒的双重感染。逻辑回归模型显示，MS 与 EBV 的存在显著相关（p<0.001），也与两种类型的感染相关（p<0.001）。
本研究提供了分子证据，表明 EBV 1 型和 2 型的共同感染与 MS 相关。
