Overview
- Published Feb. 5 in Nature Immunology, the analysis examined blood and cerebrospinal fluid from 13 people with MS or early signs and five without MS.
- In MS participants, EBV‑responsive CD8+ T cells were enriched 10–100 times in cerebrospinal fluid compared with blood, indicating localized immune activity.
- EBV was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of most participants, and at least one EBV gene was active only in people with MS.
- The findings highlight cytotoxic CD8+ T cells as a key focus in MS research, a shift from prior emphasis on CD4+ helper T cells.
- Researchers say the results support testing EBV‑targeted strategies, as parallel work implicates genetic factors such as HLA‑DR15, though larger human studies remain necessary.