Cell-mediated immune responses in man to Epstein-Barr (EB) virus infection

Cell-mediated immune response are now known to be important components of the host response to the Epstein-Barr (EB) herpesvirus. They are also likely to be essential in the control of EB-virus infection. Failure to mount any immune response to EB virus results in loss of control over the multiplication of cells transformed by the virus and gives rise to polyclonal neoplasia. A number of studies, using different preparations of antigen and a variety of assays, have demonstrated specific cell-mediated immune responses to the virus in normal individuals, most of whom by adulthood harbour the virus, and in patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM), where a consistent pattern of response is beginning to be established. However, in patients with Burkitt's lymphoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma, specific cell-mediated immune responses to the virus have been less easy to detect and difficult to relate in any consistent way to the course of the disease. In this communication we review some of the recent results obtained on cell-mediated immune responses to EB-virus infection, with particular emphasis on the pathogenesis and control of EB-virus-associated diseases. It is clear that EB-virus, though an ubiquitous, almost universal human virus, has a demonstrated potential to produce malignant neoplasia. The oncogenicity of the virus is normally held in check, at least in part through cell-mediated immune mechanisms, so that the usual mode of infection is inapparent or, in some cases, a self-limiting lymphoproliferative disease (IM). Under particular circumstances, Burkitt's lymphoma or nasopharyngeal carcinoma may result, but the role of EB-virus in the pathogenesis of these diseases and especially the part played by cell-mediated immune responses to the virus have by no means yet been elucidated.