Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Luminex Corporation

Luminex develops, manufactures, and markets biological testing technologies with applications in clinical diagnostics... read more Featured Products: More products

Download Mobile App




Multiple Sclerosis Linked to Variant of Common Herpes Virus

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 12 Dec 2019
Multiple sclerosis, MS, is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. More...
The cause of the disease is unclear, but one plausible explanation is a virus deceives the immune system to attack the body's own tissue.

According to estimates, as many as 80% of all children are infected with the common herpes virus HHV-6 before two years of age, and many also carry protection in the form of antibodies against this particular virus for the rest of their lives. But since it hasn't been possible to tell the two variants of HHV apart post-infection, it has been difficult to say whether HHV-6A or B is a risk factor for MS.

Clinical scientists from the Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) compared antibody levels in blood samples of some 8,700 MS-patients against more than 7,200 healthy people whose gender, date of birth, date of blood sample and other factors matched those with MS. For detection of IgG antibodies against the different viral proteins, a multiplex serological assay using beads coated with recombinant glutathione s-transferase (GST) fusions proteins was used. Median fluorescence intensity (MFI) was measured with a Luminex 200 analyzer (Luminex Corporation, Austin, TX, USA). Antibodies toward Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), another herpes virus that is also associated with MS, were analyzed with the same method.

The team were able to distinguish between the A and B virus by analyzing antibodies in the blood against the proteins, immediate early protein 1A and 1B (IE1A and IE1B), that diverge the most between the two viruses. The scientists reported that people with MS had a 55% higher risk of carrying antibodies against the HHV-6A protein than the control group. In a sub-group of almost 500 people, whose blood samples were drawn before the onset of the disease, the risk of developing MS in the future was more than doubled if they had a HHV-6A viral infection. The younger the people were when the virus was first discovered in the blood, the higher the risk was of developing MS in the future. HHV-6B, on the other hand, was not positively associated with MS. Instead MS-patients had lower levels of antibodies toward IE1B than those without MS.

Anna Fogdell-Hahn, PhD, an associate professor of Clinical Neuroscience and senior author of the study, said, “This is a big breakthrough for both the MS and herpes virus studies. For one, it supports the theory that HHV-6A could be a contributing factor to the development of MS. On top of that, we are now able, with this new method, to find out how common these two different types of HHV-6 are, something we haven't been able to do previously.”

The authors concluded that they had provided strong serological data supporting a role for HHV-6A in MS etiology, though causality, as with all forms of association studies remains to be proven. The study was published on November 26, 2019 in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

Related Links:
Karolinska Institutet
Luminex Corporation



Gold Member
Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile pHOx
Collection and Transport System
PurSafe Plus®
New
Autoimmune Liver Diseases Assay
Microblot-Array Liver Profile Kit
New
Human Estradiol Assay
Human Estradiol CLIA Kit
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The nanotechnology-based liquid biopsy test could identify cancer at its early stages (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

2-Hour Cancer Blood Test to Transform Tumor Detection

Glioblastoma and other aggressive cancers remain difficult to control largely because tumors can recur after treatment. Current diagnostic methods, such as invasive biopsies or expensive liquid biopsies,... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: New research points to protecting blood during radiation therapy (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Pioneering Model Measures Radiation Exposure in Blood for Precise Cancer Treatments

Scientists have long focused on protecting organs near tumors during radiotherapy, but blood — a vital, circulating tissue — has largely been excluded from dose calculations. Each blood cell passing through... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: An adult fibrosarcoma case report has shown the importance of early diagnosis and targeted therapy (Photo courtesy of Sultana and Sailaja/Oncoscience)

Accurate Pathological Analysis Improves Treatment Outcomes for Adult Fibrosarcoma

Adult fibrosarcoma is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy that develops in connective tissue and often affects the limbs, trunk, or head and neck region. Diagnosis is complex because tumors can mimic... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Conceptual design of the CORAL capsule for microbial sampling in the small intestine (H. Mohammed et al., Device (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.device.2025.100904)

Coral-Inspired Capsule Samples Hidden Bacteria from Small Intestine

The gut microbiome has been linked to conditions ranging from immune disorders to mental health, yet conventional stool tests often fail to capture bacterial populations in the small intestine.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.