Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, often leading to disability over time. While treatments can slow the progression, they cannot stop it completely. A major breakthrough came from the discovery that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is a significant risk factor for MS. The EU-funded BEHIND-MS project aims to understand how EBV triggers MS by studying the virus’ interaction with the immune system in patients. By developing new models and testing treatments, the project hopes to improve diagnosis and therapy options, ultimately reducing the burden of MS on patients and society.
We have established a multidisciplinary team that will for the first time draw a comprehensive map of the interactions between the virus and all arms of the immune system in the blood and brain of patients with MS and how they ultimately lead to neural damage, in the context of genetic risk factors. The team’s expertise span from Neurology, Neurobiology, Pathology, Immunology and Virology to Data science and Bioinformatics. We will also develop an animal model of prodromal MS to identify new pathogenic mechanisms and design new treatment approaches. Finally, we will generate biomarkers to monitor EBV infection in patients with MS.
All of the above will empower the entire healthcare value chain to work towards better clinical management of MS. A detailed understanding of EBV-MS interactions, combined with newly identified biomarkers, and study models will open the doors for researchers, clinicians and industry to capitalize on the mechanisms underlying EBV-MS interactions, and develop new diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic tools and guidelines. Ultimately, by contributing to improved risk analysis, stratification and treatment strategies, BEHIND-MS has the potential to reduce the burden of MS on society.
