Rheumatoid Arthritis and Epstein-Barr Virus: A Convergent Model

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Epstein-Barr Virus: A Convergent Model. Integrating transcriptomic, genetic, and clinical evidence. Analysis date: 31 May 2026. Data sources: GSE93272 (23 RA + 18 HC blood), GSE89408 (152 RA + 28 normal + 22 OA synovium), GSE97810 (356 RA longitudinal blood). This preprint presents a convergent model incorporating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as the mechanistic thread connecting genetic susceptibility, immune dysfunction, and clinical phenotype in RA. The central hypothesis is that EBV simultaneously disables CD8-mediated control through viral immune evasion mechanisms, hijacks B cell activation through latent proteins (EBNA2, LMP1), and drives the inflammatory loop that sustains disease activity. Without EBV, core phenomena in RA lack a mechanistic framework linking genetic risk to immune pathology.