Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Danckelmann-Platz 2, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
Department of Surgical and Conservative Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Straße 40, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
J Integr Neurosci. 2021 Mar 30;20(1):233-238. doi: 10.31083/j.jin.2021.01.392.
The pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) remains poorly understood. Presumably, MS is caused by multiple environmental, epigenetic, and genetic factors. Among them, human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and vitamin D have been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis and course of MS. Because vitamin D can affect the immune system and infections, it can be hypothesized that there is a close interplay between vitamins, EBV and ERV in the pathogenesis of MS. Here, we summarize the important data on vitamin D, including polymorphisms in genes related to vitamin D metabolism, EBV and ERV, in the pathogenesis of MS and create hypotheses regarding their interactions. Data indicate that vitamin D has a strong impact on viral infections and interferes with EBV infection, while EBV is capable of activating silent ERVs. We believe that EBV could be the missing link between vitamin D and ERV in MS pathogenesis.
多发性硬化症（MS）的发病机制仍不清楚。据推测，MS 是由多种环境、表观遗传和遗传因素引起的。其中，人类内源性逆转录病毒（HERV）、EB 病毒（EBV）和维生素 D 被认为在 MS 的发病机制和病程中起作用。由于维生素 D 可以影响免疫系统和感染，因此可以假设在 MS 的发病机制中，维生素、EBV 和 ERV 之间存在密切的相互作用。在这里，我们总结了关于维生素 D 的重要数据，包括与维生素 D 代谢、EBV 和 ERV 相关的基因的多态性，以及它们在 MS 发病机制中的相互作用假设。数据表明，维生素 D 对病毒感染有很强的影响，并干扰 EBV 感染，而 EBV 能够激活沉默的 ERV。我们认为 EBV 可能是 MS 发病机制中维生素 D 和 ERV 之间缺失的环节。
