Epstein–Barr virus and the B cell: a secret romance

Infection by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in immunocompetent individuals seems mainly confined to antigen-experienced memory B cells. However, a recent report shows that EBV + post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease might arise not only from memory B cells but also from naı̈ve and ger...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in microbiology (Regular ed.) 2003-06, Vol.11 (6), p.243-245
Main Authors: Schuster, Volker H., Müschen, Markus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
B-Lymphocytes - immunology
B-Lymphocytes - virology
Cell Differentiation
Epstein-Barr Virus Infections - immunology
Epstein-Barr Virus Infections - virology
Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte
Germinal Center - immunology
Germinal Center - virology
Herpesvirus 4, Human - physiology
Humans
Lymphoproliferative Disorders - immunology
Lymphoproliferative Disorders - virology
Models, Immunological
Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell - metabolism
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Summary:Infection by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in immunocompetent individuals seems mainly confined to antigen-experienced memory B cells. However, a recent report shows that EBV + post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease might arise not only from memory B cells but also from naı̈ve and germinal center (GC) B cells. Intriguingly, some of the EBV-positive B-cell clones seem to carry non-functional Ig-V-region genes as a result of deleterious somatic mutations acquired during the GC reaction. Given that such GC B cells are destined to die by apoptosis in the absence of EBV, these findings suggest that transformation by EBV might bypass negative selection of B cells within GCs.
ISSN:0966-842X
1878-4380
DOI:10.1016/S0966-842X(03)00121-5