Macsween Karen F, Crawford Dorothy H
University of Edinburgh, Summerhall, Edinburgh, UK.
Lancet Infect Dis. 2003 Mar;3(3):131-40. doi: 10.1016/s1473-3099(03)00543-7.
Epstein-Barr virus is a tumorigenic herpes virus that is ubiquitous in the adult population. The virus is generally spread to and between young children through salivary contact, and only causes clinical illness where primary infection is delayed until adolescence or beyond, when an intense immunopathological reaction leads to the symptoms of infectious mononucleosis in roughly 50% of cases. More than 90% of the world's population carry Epstein-Barr virus as a life-long, latent infection of B lymphocytes. Recent data show that by mimicking B-cell antigen-activation pathways the virus enters the long-lived memory B lymphocyte pool where it evades immune elimination by severely restricting its own gene expression. By influencing B-cell survival mechanisms Epstein-Barr virus may induce tumours such as B lymphoproliferative disease and Hodgkin's disease. Vaccines are being developed to prevent and/or treat these conditions, but an animal model is required to study pathogenesis before a rational vaccine strategy can be formulated.
爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒是一种具有致瘤性的疱疹病毒，在成年人群中普遍存在。该病毒通常通过唾液接触传播给幼儿并在幼儿之间传播，只有在原发性感染延迟至青春期或更晚时才会引发临床疾病，此时强烈的免疫病理反应会导致约50%的病例出现传染性单核细胞增多症的症状。世界上超过90%的人口终身携带爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒，该病毒以潜伏感染的形式存在于B淋巴细胞中。最近的数据表明，该病毒通过模拟B细胞抗原激活途径进入长寿记忆B淋巴细胞库，在那里它通过严格限制自身基因表达来逃避免疫清除。通过影响B细胞存活机制，爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒可能诱发肿瘤，如B淋巴细胞增殖性疾病和霍奇金病。目前正在研发预防和/或治疗这些疾病的疫苗，但在制定合理的疫苗策略之前，需要一个动物模型来研究发病机制。
