ScienceDaily
Your source for the latest research news
Follow Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Subscribe RSS Feeds Newsletters
New:
  • Unprecedented Glimpse of Merging Galaxies
  • Chimps Synchronize Their Steps Just Like Humans
  • Secrets of Namibia's Fairy Circles Demystified
  • Black Death Shaped Evolution of Immunity Genes
  • Methane-Eating 'Borgs' Taking Earth's Microbes
  • Pain Relief Without Side Effects and Addiction
  • Accounting For Dark Energy and Dark Matter
  • Meet the First Neanderthal Family
  • Physicists Confirm Hitch in Proton Structure
  • Five Hours' Sleep a Night: Disease Risk
advertisement
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines!
Science News
from research organizations

1

2

New clues to Epstein-Barr virus

Date:
February 21, 2013
Source:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Summary:
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) affects more than 90 percent of the population worldwide and was the first human virus found to be associated with cancer. Now, researchers have broadened the understanding of this widespread infection with their discovery of a second B-cell attachment receptor for EBV.
Share:
FULL STORY

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) affects more than 90 percent of the population worldwide and was the first human virus found to be associated with cancer. Now, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have broadened the understanding of this widespread infection with their discovery of a second B-cell attachment receptor for EBV.

advertisement

The new findings, which currently appear on-line in Cell Reports, reinforce current directions being taken in the development of a vaccine to guard against EBV, and raise important new questions regarding the virus's possible relationship to malaria and to autoimmune diseases.

"Our discovery that CD35 is an attachment receptor for EBV helps explain several previously unsolved observations," explains the study's senior author Joyce Fingeroth, MD, a member of the Division of Infectious Disease at BIDMC and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

First discovered in the early 1960s, EBV is one of eight viruses in the human herpesvirus family. The virus affects nine out of 10 people at some point in their lifetimes.

Infections in early childhood often cause no disease symptoms, but people infected during adolescence or young adulthood may develop infectious mononucleosis. EBV is also associated with several types of cancer, including Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and has been linked to certain autoimmune disorders.

"EBV was the first human virus that was discovered to be a tumor virus," explains Fingeroth. "In fact, individuals who have had infectious mononucleosis have a four times increased risk of developing Hodgkin's disease." After the initial infection, the EBV virus remains in a person's body for life.

To gain entry, viruses must first attach to their host cells. For herpesviruses, receptors on the viral envelope become connected to complementary receptors on the cell membrane. In the case of EBV, the virus gains access to the immune system by attaching to primary B cells.

Nearly 30 years ago, Fingeroth and her colleagues discovered that this attachment occurs via the CD21 protein, which until now was the only known B cell attachment receptor for EBV. The recent finding that B cells from a patient lacking CD21 can be infected and immortalized by EBV had indicated that an alternative attachment receptor must exist. The identification of this second receptor -- CD35 -- by Fingeroth's team, led by first author Javier Ogembo, PhD, of BIDMC and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, not only underscores an important finding regarding primary infection but also underscores the importance of EBVgp350/220, (the virus protein that has been found to bind to both attachment receptors) for the development of a vaccine against EBV.

"The EBV glycoprotein gp350/220, is the most abundant surface glycoprotein on the virus," says Fingeroth, adding that these results further suggest the virus fusion apparatus is the same for both receptors. "An EBV vaccine might be able to prevent infection or, alternatively, greatly reduce a person's risk of developing infectious mononucleosis and EBV-associated cancers, without necessarily preventing the EBV infection itself," she explains.

Interestingly, whereas a human has now been identified to be lacking the CD21 receptor, no persons are known to lack CD35. "CD35 is a latecomer in evolution and in its current form, exists only in humans," says Fingeroth. "We know that it is often targeted in autoimmune diseases and was recently identified as a malaria receptor. Our new discovery may, therefore, reveal new avenues for the exploration of unexplained links between EBV, autoimmune disease, malaria, and cancer."

In addition to Fingeroth and Ogembo, study coauthors include BIDMC investigators Lakshmi Kannan, Ionita Ghiran, Anne Nicholson-Weller and George Tsokos; and UMass investigator Robert Finberg.

This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (R01A10635710) as well as support from the American Heart Association, the St. Baldrick's Foundation, and the Cancer Research Institute.

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

Materials provided by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Javier G. Ogembo, Lakshmi Kannan, Ionita Ghiran, Anne Nicholson-Weller, Robert W. Finberg, George C. Tsokos, Joyce D. Fingeroth. Human Complement Receptor Type 1/CD35 Is an Epstein-Barr Virus Receptor. Cell Reports, 2013; 3 (2): 371 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2013.01.023

Cite This Page:

  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "New clues to Epstein-Barr virus." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 February 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221152738.htm>.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. (2013, February 21). New clues to Epstein-Barr virus. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 21, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221152738.htm
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "New clues to Epstein-Barr virus." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221152738.htm (accessed October 21, 2022).

  • RELATED TOPICS
    • Health & Medicine
      • Viruses
      • Infectious Diseases
      • Cancer
      • Lymphoma
    • Plants & Animals
      • Virology
      • Bird Flu Research
      • Pests and Parasites
      • Microbes and More
advertisement

  • RELATED TERMS
    • Epstein-Barr virus
    • Infectious mononucleosis
    • Cervical cancer
    • West Nile virus
    • Natural killer cell
    • Pandemic
    • HIV
    • Stem cell treatments
advertisement

  Print   Email   Share

advertisement

1

2

3

4

5
Most Popular
this week

PLANTS & ANIMALS
Eating Late Increases Hunger, Decreases Calories Burned, and Changes Fat Tissue
Dogs Can Smell When We're Stressed, Study Suggests
A New Species of Deep-Sea Fish Discovered in the Atacama Trench
EARTH & CLIMATE
Battery Tech Breakthrough Paves Way for Mass Adoption of Affordable Electric Car
Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Triggered Global Tsunami That Scoured Seafloor Thousands of Miles from Impact Site
Collision May Have Formed the Moon in Mere Hours, Simulations Reveal
FOSSILS & RUINS
Learning About the First Animals on Earth from Life at the Poles
Reign of Papua New Guinea Highland's Megafauna Lasted Long After Humans Arrived
How Fluctuating Oxygen Levels May Have Accelerated Animal Evolution
advertisement

Strange & Offbeat
 

PLANTS & ANIMALS
Chimpanzees Synchronize Their Steps Just Like Humans
Secrets of Namibia's Fairy Circles Demystified: Plants Self-Organize
Tardigrades: Microscopic Creatures' Amazing Durability
EARTH & CLIMATE
Looking to Move to a Galaxy Far, Far Away? Innovative System Evaluates Habitability of Distant Planets
Chimpanzees Synchronize Their Steps Just Like Humans
Methane-Eating 'Borgs' Have Been Assimilating Earth's Microbes
FOSSILS & RUINS
Dinosaur 'Mummies' Might Not Be as Unusual as We Think
Reign of Papua New Guinea Highland's Megafauna Lasted Long After Humans Arrived
Sound Reveals Giant Blue Whales Dance With the Wind to Find Food
Explore More
from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES

Epstein-Barr Virus May Be Leading Cause of Multiple Sclerosis
Jan. 13, 2022 — A new study provides compelling evidence of causality between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis. It suggests that most MS cases could be prevented by stopping EBV infection, and that ...
Epstein-Barr Virus Rewires Host Epigenomes to Drive Stomach Cancer
July 27, 2020 — Researchers have discovered a molecular mechanism that explains how Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection alters a host's epigenome to promote tumorigenesis (the transformation of normal cells into ...
Progress Toward Epstein-Barr Virus Vaccine
Apr. 9, 2019 — A research team has determined how several antibodies induced by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpesvirus that causes infectious mononucleosis and is associated with certain cancers, block infection ...
Experimental Drug Takes Aim at Cancers Associated With Epstein-Barr Virus
Aug. 22, 2018 — Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) doesn't directly cause cancer, but infection with this common herpes virus brings an increased risk of some cancers, including fast-growing lymphomas. This week in mSphere, ...
advertisement


SD
  • SD
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Home
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Health
    • View all the latest top news in the health sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Health & Medicine
      • Allergy
      • Alternative Medicine
      • Birth Control
      • Cancer
      • Diabetes
      • Diseases
      • Heart Disease
      • HIV and AIDS
      • Obesity
      • Stem Cells
      • ... more topics
      Mind & Brain
      • ADD and ADHD
      • Addiction
      • Alzheimer's
      • Autism
      • Depression
      • Headaches
      • Intelligence
      • Psychology
      • Relationships
      • Schizophrenia
      • ... more topics
      Living Well
      • Parenting
      • Pregnancy
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Care
      • Men's Health
      • Women's Health
      • Nutrition
      • Diet and Weight Loss
      • Fitness
      • Healthy Aging
      • ... more topics
  • Tech
    • View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology,
      or browse the topics below:
      Matter & Energy
      • Aviation
      • Chemistry
      • Electronics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Nanotechnology
      • Physics
      • Quantum Physics
      • Solar Energy
      • Technology
      • Wind Energy
      • ... more topics
      Space & Time
      • Astronomy
      • Black Holes
      • Dark Matter
      • Extrasolar Planets
      • Mars
      • Moon
      • Solar System
      • Space Telescopes
      • Stars
      • Sun
      • ... more topics
      Computers & Math
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Communications
      • Computer Science
      • Hacking
      • Mathematics
      • Quantum Computers
      • Robotics
      • Software
      • Video Games
      • Virtual Reality
      • ... more topics
  • Enviro
    • View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Plants & Animals
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Animals
      • Biology
      • Biotechnology
      • Endangered Animals
      • Extinction
      • Genetically Modified
      • Microbes and More
      • New Species
      • Zoology
      • ... more topics
      Earth & Climate
      • Climate
      • Earthquakes
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • Geology
      • Global Warming
      • Hurricanes
      • Ozone Holes
      • Pollution
      • Weather
      • ... more topics
      Fossils & Ruins
      • Ancient Civilizations
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Early Humans
      • Early Mammals
      • Evolution
      • Lost Treasures
      • Origin of Life
      • Paleontology
      • ... more topics
  • Society
    • View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education,
      or browse the topics below:
      Science & Society
      • Arts & Culture
      • Consumerism
      • Economics
      • Political Science
      • Privacy Issues
      • Public Health
      • Racial Disparity
      • Religion
      • Sports
      • World Development
      • ... more topics
      Business & Industry
      • Biotechnology & Bioengineering
      • Computers & Internet
      • Energy & Resources
      • Engineering
      • Medical Technology
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Transportation
      • ... more topics
      Education & Learning
      • Animal Learning & Intelligence
      • Creativity
      • Educational Psychology
      • Educational Technology
      • Infant & Preschool Learning
      • Learning Disorders
      • STEM Education
      • ... more topics
  • Quirky
    • Top News
    • Human Quirks
    • Odd Creatures
    • Bizarre Things
    • Weird World
Free Subscriptions

Get the latest science news with ScienceDaily's free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

  • Email Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
Follow Us

Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Have Feedback?

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

  • Leave Feedback
  • Contact Us
About This Site  |  Staff  |  Reviews  |  Contribute  |  Advertise  |  Privacy Policy  |  Editorial Policy  |  Terms of Use
Copyright 1995-2022 ScienceDaily or by other parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.
Content on this website is for information only. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice.
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners.
Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated.
— CCPA: Do Not Sell My Information — GDPR: Privacy Settings —