Stanford, California – This one na serious matter wey researchers don find out show say Epstein-Barr virus, wey plenty Americans dey carry, fit turn B cells into unwelcome guests wey dey cause wahala inside the body. You fit call am ‘the virus wey spoil the party,’ because e dey ginger immune system to turn against the very body wey e suppose protect.
For the study wey dem publish on November 12 for Science Translational Medicine, William Robinson, wey be the senior author and professor for immunology and rheumatology, yan say dis discovery na big breakthrough. According to am, ‘We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases,’ so unah fit see say e get levels.
Lupus no be small matter; about 1.5 million Americans dey suffer from am and e dey choke women pass. Lupus na chronic autoimmune condition wey cause the body’s immune system to dey attack its own cells, and symptoms fit range from skin rashes to serious organ damage. The data dey show say 9 out of 10 lupus patients na women, and nobody fit explain why dis gender imbalance dey happen.
As e reach EBV, abeg, wetin this virus dey do? The virus dey hide for the system of about 19 out of 20 Americans, wey mean say e don already enter plenty people’s bodies before dem go reach adulthood. E dey spread through saliva – as we dey chop or share drink, or even from those sweet sweet teen kisses (na wah o!). But no be everybody wey get EBV go don suffer from lupus; na wetin make this matter dey complicate inside the research.
One reason be say e dey rare for normal persons to get serious symptoms from EBV. According to Robinson, the only way to avoid EBV na to live for bubble – no be play play at all.
After studying several B cells from both lupus patients and healthy folks, dem discover say for lupus patients, about 1 in 400 B cells get EBV compared to the normal ratio wey dey around 1 in 10,000 for healthy people. Na so dem realize say EBV dey connect to severe inflammation wey dey lead to symptoms wey dey make life dey hard.
Research show say EBV dey turn autoreactive B cells into ‘driver’ cells wey dey scatter inflammation everywhere. Na dis reprogramming dey cause immune system to launch serious attack against the body cells, and na dem B cells wey dey follow EBV turn into serious problem.
Robinson and im team don develop a special method wey dem dey call EBV-seq, wey fit detect EBV RNA from individual B cells. Dis new technology fit distinguish between the infected and uninfected B cells, giving researchers a clearer view of how EBV dey operate.
Lupus fit be the poster-child for EBV’s wahala, but experts dey suggest say dis discovery fit open gateway to understanding other autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis where EBV dey play roles as well.
At the end, di million-dollar question be why some people wey dey carry EBV no dey get autoimmunity, while others dey suffer. Robinson dey speculate say some strains of EBV fit quicken this transformation process. E get some companies wey dey work on EBV vaccine to fight dis wahala before e turn serious.
All in all, dis study fit change the game for how lupus dey tackled, and researchers dey hope say their findings go lead to new therapies wey fit help people manage or even prevent dis killer disease. Just as Robinson talk, ‘This na step into understanding how lupus fit start — and how e fit stop before e even begin.’
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