Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most commonly acquired neurological disease in younger adults around the world with over 2.3 million people affected, including more than 25,000 Australians. While its symptoms and progression are variable, MS can be debilitating. There is overwhelming evidence that MS is caused by an autoimmune process with both genetic and environmental contributors. One of the most important of these is prior infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which doubles the risk of developing MS. The causal link is not clear, however, and it seems likely that EBV does not cause MS directly but instead triggers an immune response which increases an individual's vulnerability to the disease.

Our project will determine how EBV and other factors affect the onset and progression of MS through epigenetic pathways, in order to better tailor prevention and treatment in line with risk profiles. More specifically, we will use three national studies to investigate how EPV affects the risk of acquiring MS and its subsequent progression. We will measure antibodies that bind both host proteins and EBV and assess effects of this on MS risk and clinical progression. We will also measure the molecular modification of DNA across more than 50 immune cell types and how this affects EBV’s impact on MS. Finally we will assess how EBV affects the activity of common MS medications, which will help inform the use of personalised medicine using these treatments. Alex Eisner, a PhD student co-supervised by Prof Anne-Louise Ponsonby and A/Prof Daniel Park, is working on this project.