title: Epstein-Barr virus infection of human brain microvessel endothelial cells: a novel role in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory neurological disease that is widely regarded as the outcome of complex interactions between a genetic predisposition and an environmental trigger. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has recently been associated with the onset of MS, yet understanding how it elicits autoimmunity remains elusive. Neuroinflammation, including the entry of autoreactive T cells, likely follows a breach of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) leading to CNS lesions in MS. We show that EBV can infect human BBB cells leading to increased production of pro-inflammatory mediators that result in immune cell adherence thus modeling a key step in MS pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Costanza
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casiraghi
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dorovini-Zis
authors.forename: Marc S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Horwitz
mesh_terms: D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000821:virology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000821:virology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D055806:Microvessels / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines