There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an extremely successful virus, infecting more than 90% of the human population worldwide. After primary infection, the virus persists for the life of the host, usually as a harmless passenger residing in B cells. However, EBV can transform B cells, which can result in the development of malignant lymphomas. Intriguingly, the three main types of EBV-associated B-cell lymphoma - that is, Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and post-transplant lymphomas - seem to derive from germinal-centre B cells or atypical survivors of the germinal-centre reaction in most, if not all, cases, indicating that EBV-infected germinal-centre B cells are at particular risk for malignant transformation.

Related collections

Most cited references 71

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Clonal selection and learning in the antibody system.

K Rajewsky (1996)

Each antibody-producing B cell makes antibodies of unique specificity, reflecting a series of ordered gene rearrangements which must be successfully performed if the cell is to survive. A second selection process occurs during immune responses in which a new antibody repertoire is generated through somatic hypermutation. Here only mutants binding antigen with high affinity survive to become memory cells. Cells expressing autoreactive receptors are counter-selected at both stages. This stringent positive and negative selection allows the generation and diversification of cells while rigorously controlling their specificity.

0 comments Cited 326 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Epstein-Barr virus: exploiting the immune system.

D A Thorley-Lawson (2001)

In vitro, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) will infect any resting B cell, driving it out of the resting state to become an activated proliferating lymphoblast. Paradoxically, EBV persists in vivo in a quiescent state in resting memory B cells that circulate in the peripheral blood. How does the virus get there, and with such specificity for the memory compartment? An explanation comes from the idea that two genes encoded by the virus--LMP1 and LMP2A--allow EBV to exploit the normal pathways of B-cell differentiation so that the EBV-infected B blast can become a resting memory cell.

0 comments Cited 214 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

EBV persistence in memory B cells in vivo.

Gregory J. Babcock, Lisa Decker, Mark Volk … (1998)

Epstein-Barr virus establishes latency in vitro by activating human B cells to become proliferating blasts, but in vivo it is benign. In the peripheral blood, the virus resides latently in resting B cells that we now show are restricted to the sIgD memory subset. However, in tonsils the virus shows no such restriction. We propose that EBV indiscriminately infects B cells in mucosal lymphoid tissue and that these cells differentiate to become resting memory B cells that then enter the circulation. Activation to the blastoid stage of latency is an essential intermediate step in this process. Thus, EBV may persist by exploiting the mechanisms that produce and maintain long-term B cell memory.

0 comments Cited 182 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

PubMed ID:: 14523386

DOI:: 10.1038/nri1201

ScienceOpen disciplines: Chemistry

Keywords: B-Lymphocytes,immunology,virology,Cell Transformation, Viral,Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens,Germinal Center,Herpesvirus 4, Human,pathogenicity,Humans,Infectious Mononucleosis,Lymphocyte Activation,Lymphoma, B-Cell,Viral Matrix Proteins

B cells under influence: transformation of B cells by Epstein-Barr virus.

Read this article at

Abstract

Related collections

Drug_transporters

Most cited references 71

Clonal selection and learning in the antibody system.

Epstein-Barr virus: exploiting the immune system.

EBV persistence in memory B cells in vivo.

Author and article information

Journal

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 816

Cited by 100

Most referenced authors 1,237