Haematologica Reports 2005; 1(issue 5): 24-27 [prev][index][next]

Treatment of Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphomas: the role of Epstein-Barr virus-specific cytotoxic T cells
Helen E Heslop, Catherine Bollard, Stephen Gottschalk, Barbara Savoldo, Malcolm K Brenne
Cliona M Rooney?
Center for Gene and Cell Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA

Latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with a heterogeneous group of lymphoma, including Burkitt’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, NK-T lymphomas and lymphoproliferative disease (LPD).^1-3 All EBV-associated malignancies are associated with the virus’ latent cycle, and three distinct types of EBV latency have been characterized.^4,5 All are EBER positive, but the EBV latent protein expression varies. Latency type III, is expressed in lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL), which can be readily produced by infecting B cells in vitro with EBV and is characterized by expression of the entire array of nine EBV latency proteins: EBNAs 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, LP, BARF0 and the two viral membrane proteins LMP1 and LMP2. [>Read full article in PDF]