How the Epstein-Barr virus hides in human cells
2015-06-15
(Press-News.org) Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München have now discovered how Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) conceals itself in human cells. A main culprit for its bad visibility by the immune system is the viral protein LMP2A. As published in the scientific journal PLOS Pathogens, the protein helps EBV-infected cells hide from T cells. This camouflage through the LMP2A protein may play a major role in the causation of cancer by EBV.
„We suspected that a viral protein was behind EBV's camouflage in cancerous cells", says Dr. Andreas Moosmann from the Research Unit Gene Vectors at Helmholtz Zentrum München. „Right away, LMP2A seemed quite suspicious to us. This protein keeps appearing in different forms of EBV infection, but it was never totally clear what it's doing there."
This prompted Moosmann, who heads the newly established research group 'Host control of viral latency and reactivation' of the German Center of Infection Research, to search for links between LMP2A and the immune system. "Cancer cells express only a few of the viral proteins," explains Dr. Chiara Rancan, who is the first author of the study. "In most cases, LMP2A is one of them." In their experiments, immune cells recognized infected cancer-like cells much better whenever the scientists knocked out LMP2A.
About 95% of humans have acquired EBV when they reach middle age and keep it for life. Most stay healthy. But several types of cancer can be caused by EBV, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma* and many cases of Hodgkin Lymphoma*. The protein LMP2A may weaken the immune response against these cancers and thus contribute to their outbreak.
"We want to make a contribution to better understand EBV disease", Moosmann says. "We hope that this will be a basis for new therapies."
INFORMATION:
Original publication:
Rancan C, Schirrmann L, Hüls C, Zeidler R, Moosmann A (2015) Latent Membrane Protein LMP2A Impairs Recognition of EBV-Infected Cells by CD8+ T Cells. PLoS Pathog 11(6): e1004906. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1004906
Link to the original paper: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1004906
Further Information
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma = a cancer of the upper throat
Hodgkin Lymphoma = a cancer of white blood cells
As German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München pursues the goal of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes mellitus and lung diseases. To achieve this, it investigates the interaction of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Helmholtz Zentrum München has about 2,300 staff members and is headquartered in Neuherberg in the north of Munich. Helmholtz Zentrum München is a member of the Helmholtz Association, a community of 18 scientific-technical and medical-biological research centers with a total of about 37,000 staff members.
The independent Research Unit Gene Vectors investigates Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a member of the human herpesvirus family. EBV causes infectious mononucleosis ("mono") and several types of cancer, and is associated with autoimmune diseases. Elucidation of molecular mechanisms of EBV infection and the immune response against the virus aims at developing new therapies, vaccines and strategies of prevention.
The German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) is a research consortium that aims at preventing and combating infectious diseases.
Contact for Media
Department of Communication, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg - Phone: +49-(0)89-3187-2238 - Fax: +49 89-3187-3324 - e-mail: presse@helmholtz-muenchen.de
Scientific Contact
Dr. Andreas Moosmann , Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmengal Health, Research Unit Gene Vectors, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg - Tel.: +49 89-3187-1202 - e-mail: andreas.moosmann@helmholtz-muenchen.de
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[Press-News.org] How the Epstein-Barr virus hides in human cells
