Intrathecal antibodies cross-react with EBV BRRF2 and human antigens in multiple sclerosis

Intrathecal antibody synthesis is a hallmark of multiple sclerosis (MS). Although some intrathecally synthesized antibodies in MS are known to target viral antigens, the spectrum of their antigenic specificities remains incompletely defined. We combined proteome-wide antibody profiling by Phage ImmunoPrecipitation Sequencing (PhIP-Seq) with cross-compartment analytics (MICAR) to study intrathecal antibody synthesis at peptide resolution in paired CSF and serum samples from individuals with MS ( n = 40) and non-MS controls ( n = 83).

While intrathecal antibody responses in MS were polyspecific and included reactivities to various viruses, we identified a subset of individuals with a convergent intrathecal antibody reactivity to a previously described motif within the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) protein BRRF2 (BRRF2 _408–415 ). This motif-directed response showed co-reactivity with multiple CNS-expressed human antigens. In an independent cohort of n = 909 individuals with MS and n = 311 controls, including individuals with NMOSD and MOGAD, serum antibodies to BRRF2 _408–415 were detected in 8.36% of MS individuals and in 0.64% of non-MS controls, corresponding to an odds ratio for MS of 14.1 (95% CI: 4.4–86.04). Within MS individuals, BRRF2 _408–415 seropositivity was associated with increased intrathecal IgG synthesis. Cross-reactivity of antibodies to BRRF2 _408–415 with human targets, including TRIM71 and RTN2, was confirmed by competition ELISA and cell-based assays.

Together, these data define an intrathecal EBV BRRF2-linked antibody signature with human target cross-reactivity in a subset of MS individuals. This signature identifies a highly specific serological marker in MS and may support future stratification of the heterogeneous MS spectrum.