Association of Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers with a human IL-10 promoter polymorphism in Japanese women

The Microenvironment in Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Malignancies

The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) can cause a wide variety of cancers upon infection of different cell types and induces a highly variable composition of the tumor microenvironment (TME). This TME consists of both innate and adaptive immune cells and is not merely an aspecific reaction to the tumor cells. In fact, latent EBV-infected tumor cells utilize several specific mechanisms to form and shape the TME to their own benefit. These mechanisms have been studied largely in the context of EBV+ Hodgkin lymphoma, undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and EBV+ gastric cancer. This review describes the composition, immune escape mechanisms, and tumor cell promoting properties of the TME in these three malignancies. Mechanisms of susceptibility which regularly involve genes related to immune system function are also discussed, as only a small proportion of EBV-infected individuals develops an EBV-associated malignancy.

A single-nucleotide polymorphism in serine-threonine kinase 11, the gene encoding liver kinase B1, is a risk factor for multiple sclerosis

We identified a family in which five siblings were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) or clinically isolated syndrome. Several women in the maternal lineage have comorbidities typically associated with Peutz Jeghers Syndrome, a rare autosomal-dominant disease caused by mutations in the serine-threonine-kinase 11 (STK11) gene, which encodes liver kinase B1. Sequence analysis of DNA from one sibling identified a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within STK11 intron 5. This SNP (dbSNP ID: rs9282860) was identified by TaqMan polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays in DNA samples available from two other siblings. Further screening was carried out in samples from 654 relapsing-remitting MS patients, 100 primary progressive MS patients, and 661 controls. The STK11-SNP has increased frequency in all female patients versus controls (odds ratio = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.05, 2.64, p = .032). The STK11-SNP was not associated with disease duration or onset; however, it was significantly associated with reduced severity (assessed by MS severity scores), with the lowest scores in patients who also harbored the HLA-DRB1*1501 allele. In vitro studies showed that peripheral blood mononuclear cells from members of the family were more sensitive to the mitochondrial inhibitor metformin than cells from MS patients with the major STK11 allele. The increased association of SNP rs9282860 in women with MS defines this variant as a genetic risk factor. The lower disease severity observed in the context of HLA-DRB1*1501 combined with limited in vitro studies raises the provocative possibility that cells harboring the STK11-SNP could be targeted by drugs which increase metabolic stress.

Host genetics of Epstein-Barr virus infection, latency and disease

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infects 95% of the adult population and is the cause of infectious mononucleosis. It is also associated with 1% of cancers worldwide, such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and Burkitt's lymphoma. Human and cancer genetic studies are now major forces determining gene variants associated with many cancers, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Host genetics is also important in infectious disease; however, there have been no large-scale efforts towards understanding the contribution that human genetic variation plays in primary EBV infection and latency. This review covers 25 years of studies into host genetic susceptibility to EBV infection and disease, from candidate gene studies, to the first genome-wide association study of EBV antibody response, and an EBV-status stratified genome-wide association study of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Although many genes are implicated in EBV-related disease, studies are often small, not replicated or followed up in a different disease. Larger, appropriately powered genomic studies to understand the host response to EBV will be needed to move our understanding of the biology of EBV infection beyond the handful of genes currently identified. Fifty years since the discovery of EBV and its identification as a human oncogenic virus, a glimpse of the future is shown by the first whole-genome and whole-exome studies, revealing new human genes at the heart of the host–EBV interaction. © 2014 The Authors. Reviews in Medical Virology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Joint effects of Epstein-Barr virus and polymorphisms in interleukin-10 and interferon-γ on breast cancer risk

BACKGROUND

The relationship between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and breast cancer (BC) is controversial. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) are believed to play a critical role in the host's responses to EBV infection, and their genetic variations may modify the association of EBV with BC risk.

METHODS

We examined serum levels of EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) immunoglobulin A (IgA) and nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) IgA along with the polymorphisms of IL-10 rs1800871 and IFN-γ rs2069705 in 354 incident BC cases and 504 age-matched controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

VCA IgA and EBNA-1 IgA levels were positively associated with BC risk. IL-10 rs1800871 (TC/CC) was associated with a reduced BC risk (OR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.55-1.00]) but had no interaction with EBV infection on BC risk. IFN-γ rs2069705 was not directly associated with BC risk but interacted with EBNA-1 IgA on BC risk. Among women with the CC genotype, EBNA-1 IgA seropositivity significantly increased the risk of BC compared to EBNA-1 IgA seronegativity (OR, 5.14 [95% CI, 1.76-14.98]).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that EBV may contribute to the risk of BC and that this contribution may be modified by genetic variations in IFN-γ.

Humoral immunity following chickenpox is influenced by geography and ethnicity

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the contribution of ethnicity and geographical location to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) serostatus and antibody concentrations.

METHODS

The presence and concentrations of antibodies to VZV were measured in 639 Bangladeshi women born in Bangladesh (BBB), 94 Bangladeshi women born in the UK (BUK) and 262 White women born in the UK (WUK). The results were analysed in relation to demographic and social data.

RESULTS

BBB women were significantly less likely to be VZV seropositive at all ages than both BUK and WUK women. However, the odds of a Bangladeshi-born woman being seropositive increased by 1.04 for each year under the age of 15 spent in the UK. In contrast, antibody concentrations were significantly lower in ethnic Bangladeshi women, irrespective of country of birth. White, but not Bangladeshi women, showed evidence of antibody boosting over time despite the latter having more exposure to children.

CONCLUSION

Geographical location during childhood is the major influence on age of primary infection with VZV while the level of antibody is related to ethnicity. Since the risk of re-infection with VZV following both natural infection and vaccination is increased as antibody concentrations fall, these results have implications for VZV vaccination programmes particularly in non-White populations.

Epstein-Barr virus in multiple sclerosis

Recent seroepidemiologic and pathologic evidence suggests that prior infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may be necessary for the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). EBV infects more than 90% of all humans, most of whom remain healthy. In contrast, 99% of MS patients have evidence of prior infection with EBV. EBV infects resting B lymphocytes, immortalizing them into long-lived memory B cells that survive largely undetected by the immune system in the peripheral circulation. MS patients show elevated titers to EBV years before developing any neurologic symptoms. Postmortem pathologic analysis of brains of patients with MS has revealed diffuse EBV-associated B-cell dysregulation in all forms of MS. Theories of pathogenesis of EBV in MS include antigenic mimicry, immortalization of B-cell clones, and cytotoxic T-cell dysfunction against virally infected B cells. This article reviews the existing evidence of the relationship between EBV and MS and considers the therapeutic implication of this evidence.