Absence of Epstein-Barr virus in the brain and CSF of patients with multiple sclerosis

OBJECTIVE

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human herpesvirus that becomes latent in B-lymphocytes and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). We searched for latent and active EBV infection in MS brain and CSF.

METHODS

Nested and non-nested real-time PCR were used to detect cell-specific and EBV-specific transcripts in 15 fresh-frozen and 5 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded MS plaques and in single MS CSF B-lymphocytes and plasma cells. Intrathecal anti-EBV antibody synthesis was measured by ELISA. Immunocytochemistry was used to detect binding of MS CSF and recombinant antibodies (rAbs) generated from clonally expanded plasma cells in MS CSF to EBV-infected cells.

RESULTS

No EBV RNA was found in MS CSF B-lymphocytes or plasma cells. In active MS plaques, EBV-encoded RNA (EBER)-1 was the only and rarely detected transcript. The frequency of detected intrathecal anti-EBV antibody synthesis in patients with MS did not differ from that in non-MS inflammatory CNS disease control patients. Anti-EBV antibodies were detected in the CSF of patients with MS, but MS rAbs did not react with EBV.

CONCLUSIONS

Application of real-time PCR to multiple sclerosis brain and single B-lymphocytes in CSF did not reveal any evidence of active Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Measles virus-specific plasma cells are prominent in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis CSF

OBJECTIVE

To demonstrate the specificity of expanded CD138(+) plasma cell clones recovered from the CSF of a patient with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) for measles virus (MV).

METHODS

IgG variable region sequences of single-antibody-secreting CD138(+) cells sorted from SSPE CSF were amplified by single-cell PCR and analyzed. Human IgG1 recombinant antibodies (rAbs) were produced from four expanded CD138(+) clones and assayed for immunoreactivity against MV proteins.

RESULTS

Clonal expansion was a prominent feature of the SSPE plasma cell repertoire, and each of the four rAbs assayed was specific for either the MV fusion or the MV nucleocapsid protein.

CONCLUSIONS

Expanded plasma cell clones in the CSF of patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis produce disease-relevant antibodies. Recombinant antibodies derived from CSF B cells could provide a tool to identify target antigens in idiopathic inflammatory disorders.