title: EBV-infected B cells in infectious mononucleosis: viral strategies for spreading in the B cell compartment and establishing latency.
abstract: Infection of humans with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may cause infectious mononucleosis (IM). Analysis of single EBV-infected cells from tonsils of IM patients for rearranged immunoglobulin genes revealed two strategies of EBV for rapid and massive spread in the B cell compartment: the direct infection of many naive as well as memory and/or germinal center B cells and the expansion of the latter cells to large clones. In IM, the generation of virus-harboring memory B cells from naive B cells passing through a germinal center reaction likely plays no role. Members of clones can show distinct morphologies and likely also EBV gene expression patterns, and this ability implies a mechanism by which EBV-harboring cells can evade immune surveillance and establish a pool of persisting EBV-infected B cells.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Genetics and Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Cologne, Germany. jkurth@mac.genetik.uni-koeln.de
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kurth
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Spieker
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wustrow
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Strickler
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Hansmann
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rajewsky
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Küppers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002999:Clone Cells; D005260:Female; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D015322:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000276:immunology; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D007399:Interphase / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016539:Reed-Sternberg Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D017735:Virus Latency / Q000276:immunology*; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000276:immunology*