Speaker: Christian Münz, University of Zurich
What key insights will you be sharing in your session?
Christian Münz: My name is Christian Münz and I am a professor and co-director of the Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. My laboratory has been studying the immune control of the Epstein Barr virus, or EBV, for more than 20 years. EBV infects more than 95% of the human adult population and can cause during primary infection some of the strongest T cell activations and expansions known in man. These manifest in infectious mononucleosis and increase the risk to develop multiple sclerosis. In my presentation at the ECTRIMS meeting in Milan, I will describe the phenotype of T cells that are expanded by EBV and its characteristics that protect most virus carriers from associated disease. This T cell phenotype might explain why EBV specific immune control differs between anatomical locations, including mucosal barrier sites and possibly even the central nervous system. Furthermore, I will highlight diminished EBV specific immune control in the context of the MHC class II molecule that is associated with multiple sclerosis. Both of these aspects could compromise the elimination of EBV infected B cells in individuals with genetic and environmental risk factors for multiple sclerosis. This might result in diminished EBV specific immune control, especially at anatomical sites that would allow priming of autoimmune myelin specific T cell responses.
Why is MSMilan2023 such an important event for MS experts and neurologists?
Christian Münz: The ECTRIMS meeting is a prominent conference that brings together researchers and clinicians that work on multiple sclerosis. In Milan, this year, it will bring together clinical and basic researchers to develop strategies to interrogate if targeting of the EBV infection might be therapeutically beneficial for MS patients, a development that is quite exciting, in the field.
