{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,15]],"date-time":"2026-08-15T20:12:41Z","timestamp":1786824761628,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,20]],"date-time":"2023-12-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1703030400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an immune-mediated, polyarthritis linked with various genetic and environmental causative agents. Among environmental triggers, Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is considered the most potent etiological agent.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of EBV and its genotypes in RA patients and to investigate their association with clinical and laboratory parameters of RA.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Methodology<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This study included blood samples of RA and control healthy individuals (100 each). Blood samples along with clinical and laboratory parameters were collected from patients after consent in the Department of Rheumatology, at Lady Reading Hospital, in Peshawar Pakistan. Blood samples were processed for DNA extraction followed by PCR amplification for EBV detection and genotype discrimination.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>RA patients were 85 females and 15 males with a mean age of 40.13\u00b114.05 years. EBV Type-1 was detected in 45% of RA and 9% of control cases. The mean disease duration of RA patients was 6.61\u00b16.23 years. Out of 100 diseased patients, 43% were seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (SPRA) and showed a significant correlation with a family history of RA in EBV-positive individuals (P = 0.017). The demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters of RA patients showed a non-significant association with EBV. Moreover, only a family history and Serum creatinine of RA patients showed a significant association with EBV (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.022 respectively).<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec005\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>It is concluded that EBV-1 is prevalent and associated with RA. Further investigation is required for detailed genetic analysis of EBV to determine its possible role in modulating the immune system in RA.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0295124","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,20]],"date-time":"2023-12-20T18:35:36Z","timestamp":1703097336000},"page":"e0295124","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Frequency and association of Epstein-Barr Virus genotype in rheumatoid arthritis patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Ayesha","family":"Munir","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suleman","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3164-3036","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sanaullah","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5463-535X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sobia","family":"Attaullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mehwish","family":"Munir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aisha","family":"Saleem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ijaz","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,20]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0295124.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1038\/s41413-018-0016-9","article-title":"Rheumatoid arthritis: pathological mechanisms and modern pharmacologic therapies","volume":"6","author":"Q Guo","year":"2018","journal-title":"Bone research"},{"key":"pone.0295124.ref002","first-page":"1","article-title":"Comparison of healthcare resource utilization and medical costs between patients with seropositive and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.","volume":"13","author":"H Kim","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0295124.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.1016\/j.autrev.2004.02.002","article-title":"Epstein\u2013Barr virus and rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"3","author":"N Balandraud","year":"2004","journal-title":"Autoimmunity reviews"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0295124.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"352","DOI":"10.4132\/jptm.2017.03.15","article-title":"Epstein-Barr virus\u2013associated lymphoproliferative disorders: review and update on 2016 WHO classification.","volume":"51","author":"H-J Kim","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journa of pathology and translational medicine."},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0295124.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0189033","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0189033","article-title":"Prevalence and molecular profiling of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) among healthy blood donors from different nationalities in Qatar.","volume":"12","author":"MK Smatti","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"7","key":"pone.0295124.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1089\/vim.2015.0035","article-title":"Increased Epstein-Barr virus DNA load and antibodies against EBNA1 and EA in sardinian patients with rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"28","author":"GL Erre","year":"2015","journal-title":"Viral immunology"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0295124.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0171623","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0171623","article-title":"Long term treatment with abatacept or tocilizumab does not increase Epstein-Barr virus load in patients with rheumatoid arthritis-A three years retrospective study.","volume":"12","author":"N Balandraud","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLoS One."},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0295124.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0208957","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0208957","article-title":"Epstein-Barr virus infection and variants of Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-1 in synovial tissues of rheumatoid arthritis.","volume":"13","author":"S Masuoka","year":"2018","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"pone.0295124.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"650713","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2021.650713","article-title":"Altered antibody response to epstein-barr virus in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy subjects predisposed to the disease. 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