Gene expression profiling of human CD19+ B cells and EBV transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs)

Genome wide association studies have identified >200 susceptibility loci accounting for much of the heritability of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a memory B cell tropic virus, has been identified as necessary but not sufficient for development of MS. The molecular and immunological basis for this has not been established. Infected B cell proliferation is driven by signalling through the EBV produced cell surface protein LMP1, a homologue of the MS risk gene CD40. Methods: We have investigated transcriptomes of B cells and EBV infected B cells at Latency III (LCLs) and identified MS risk genes with altered expression on infection Overall design: 5 individuals with paired CD19+ B cells and LCLs