Strong correlations of anti-viral capsid antigen antibody levels in first-degree relatives from families with Epstein-Barr virus-related lymphomas.
BACKGROUND
Markers of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection include anti-viral capsid antigen (VCA) immunoglobulin (Ig) G. High anti-VCA titers are associated with EBV-related lymphoproliferation, such as Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).


METHODS
Intrafamilial correlations of anti-VCA IgG levels were studied in 3 settings: 127 families recruited through patients with HL in France (population A), 31 families recruited through patients with BL in Uganda (population B), and 74 large families from a general population in Cameroon (population C). Titers were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (populations A and C) or by immunofluorescence analysis (population B).


RESULTS
In populations A and B, the anti-VCA IgG titers of the relatives of patients with HL or BL increased significantly (P = .01 and P < .001, respectively) with those of the index case patient. In all 3 populations, anti-VCA IgG titers were significantly correlated (P < .001 for A, P = .002 for B, and P < .001 for C) between genetically related individuals (father-offspring, mother-offspring, and sibling-sibling) but not between spouses. Similar results were obtained for population A after adjustment for total IgG levels. In all cases, the pattern of correlations was consistent with a polygenic model, with heritability ranging from 0.32 to 0.48.


CONCLUSIONS
These results provide evidence for the genetic control of anti-VCA IgG titers and pave the way for identification of the loci involved.
Besson
Caroline
C
Laboratoire de Génétique Humaine des Maladies Infectieuses, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité 550, France.
Amiel
Corinne
C
Le-Pendeven
Catherine
C
Plancoulaine
Sabine
S
Bonnardel
Colette
C
Ranque
Brigitte
B
Abbed
Karim
K
Brice
Pauline
P
Fermé
Christophe
C
Carde
Patrice
P
Hermine
Olivier
O
Raphael
Martine
M
Bresson
Jean-Louis
JL
Nicolas
Jean-Claude
JC
Gessain
Antoine
A
Dethe
Guy
G
Abel
Laurent
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D015415:Biomarkers; D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D002163:Cameroon; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014454:Uganda; D055815:Young Adult
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D015415:Biomarkers; D036022:Capsid Proteins; C041788:Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen; D007074:Immunoglobulin G