title: Phenotype and frequency of Epstein-Barr virus-infected cells in pretreatment blood samples from patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.
abstract: An accumulating body of data suggests that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a lymphotropic herpesvirus, is involved in the pathogenesis of a proportion of cases of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). In this study, we showed that the frequency of circulating EBV-infected cells was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in pretreatment blood samples from EBV-associated cases when compared with non-EBV-associated cases. We further showed that in patients with EBV-associated disease, the virus persisted in the peripheral blood in memory B cells. This phenotype is consistent with that seen in healthy seropositive controls, post-transplant patients and patients with acute infectious mononucleosis. The data suggest that an increased frequency of EBV carrying B cells in peripheral blood is associated with EBV-associated HL.
authors.affiliation: Leukaemia Research Fund Virus Centre, Institute of Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Gulfaraz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lake
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shield
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Freeland
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.forename: Freda E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Penelope R A
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Elizabeth A B
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: McCruden
authors.forename: Ruth F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Jarrett
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000821:virology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000276:immunology*; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000821:virology; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D019562:Viral Load