Scientists Develop New Method to Combat Epstein-Barr Virus 0 11

EBV is not just a short-term infection. Once it enters the body, it can remain there for a lifetime. Its presence is linked to several types of cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other serious health complications. Now, new research has provided a promising method to combat it.

A team from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington (USA) has developed antibodies targeting two proteins on the surface of EBV viral particles.

These proteins help the virus penetrate our B cells—a type of white blood cell that plays a central role in the immune system.

Blocking their activity would not only prevent EBV infection from the outset but might also be sufficient to prevent its reactivation later in life.

In experiments with mice, whose immune systems are similar to humans, one of these antibodies protected the animals from EBV infection. The work also addressed the longstanding problem of developing antibodies against this virus: EBV attacks the body so pervasively that finding specific immune cells designed to fight it, which serve as the basis for antibodies, becomes extremely difficult.

One of the clever solutions by the scientists was to use mice engineered to produce genetically human antibodies. This increases the likelihood that the antibodies will be accepted by the human body upon administration—if and when the research reaches that stage. When the animals were exposed to the two EBV proteins—gp350 and gp42—the mouse cells triggered exactly the immune response the researchers were looking for, allowing for the production of precisely targeted antibodies.

Ultimately, the researchers isolated ten new antibodies in the laboratory: two targeting gp350 and eight targeting gp42. When tested on live mice, one of these antibodies demonstrated particularly promising protection against EBV.

When EBV causes noticeable symptoms, it usually first manifests as infectious mononucleosis (also known as glandular fever). After that, it remains in the body in a latent, non-infectious state and can become much more dangerous—especially for people with weakened immune systems.

Although the results have so far been obtained in animals, the discovery offers hope for the development of effective therapy against one of the most common viruses in the world, writes bb.lv. If further research confirms efficacy in humans, this could be a breakthrough in the prevention of EBV-related diseases.