Dysregulated Epstein-Barr virus infection in patients with CIDP

• Published in: Journal of neuroimmunology Vol. 218; no. 1; pp. 107 - 111
• Main Authors: Lünemann, J.D, Tackenberg, B, Stein, A, Wandinger, K.P, Oertel, W.H, Wagner, H.J, Münz, C, Meisel, H, Sommer, N, Zipp, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 25-01-2010
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Allergy and Immunology; Antigens, Viral - immunology; Autoimmunity; Child; CIDP; EBV; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epstein-Barr virus; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections - blood; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections - immunology; Herpesvirus; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin G - immunology; Infection; Middle Aged; Neurology; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating - blood; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating - immunology; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating - virology; Young Adult; Autoimmunity; Infection; EBV; CIDP; Herpesvirus
• ISSN: 0165-5728; 1872-8421
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2009.11.003

Abstract Ubiquitous viruses have frequently been proposed as a cause or trigger of chronic immune-mediated diseases. Infections are reported to be temporally associated with clinical exacerbations in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). We examined immunological parameters of herpesvirus infections in untreated patients with CIDP compared to demographically matched controls. Patients with CIDP were uniformly seropositive for EBV-specific IgG and the disease was associated with a moderately enhanced IgG reactivity to EBV-encoded antigens expressed during both B cell transformation and productive viral replication. Moreover, cellular EBV copy numbers were 3-fold increased in patients with CIDP. In contrast, humoral immune responses to other herpesviruses (HCMV, HSV) as well as virus-specific IgM responses were unchanged in CIDP. These data indicate that host–pathogen interactions during chronic EBV infection are dysregulated in treatment-naïve patients with CIDP.