Matthew Campbell

Yeah, so this is a much more positive story, thankfully.

So, Epstein-Barr virus, as we know, it affects about 95% of the population in Ireland and around the world have been infected with Epstein-Barr virus.

But as you said, about two years ago, there was a massive study coming out of the US where they made very, very conclusive associations between individuals who are exposed to Epstein-Barr virus and then go on to develop multiple sclerosis.

There is something in the Epstein-Barr virus in some individuals who are genetically susceptible, or maybe they might be immunocompromised at the time they get infected, that can tip the balance over to this neurological condition called multiple sclerosis.

Now, the issue with multiple sclerosis and with Epstein-Barr virus especially is that, unlike other viruses, it actually is really quiet.

When it infects you, it can cause glandular fever.

We've all had glandular fever when we were teenagers.

You feel rotten for a couple of weeks and your glands swell up.

That's what happens acutely.

But what Epstein-Barr virus does, when it lives in your system, it can be very, very silent.

So it can get into your B cells, the cells that produce antibodies, and it can just sit there in a latent state for a very, very long time.

Now, what this particular study that has found in a group in Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle in the US, they published a paper in a journal called Cell Reports Medicine, which is a really big journal, really prominent journal in the field.

And what they did was they basically engineered mice to produce two distinct proteins, one called GP350 and the other called GP42.

Now, so to put that in context, what that means basically, people will remember from COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, the spike protein was the part of the virus that allowed it to infect cells.

For Epstein-Barr virus, we're not great at knowing what is the spike protein on EBV.

So, what this group have done basically is they've identified these two components that we now know are the key components that allow the virus to enter B cells.

And why is that important?

Well, it's important because if we can identify these components of the cell surface of the virus, we can generate vaccines and we can also generate antibodies targeting them.

So, really, really positive antibodies.

And really interesting findings.