Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 peptide-MHC complex (EBNA1-pMHC)

Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) is a multifunctional viral protein essential for the replication, segregation, and maintenance of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) episome during latency (UniProt P03211). It is uniquely expressed in all EBV-associated malignancies, including Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, making it a near-universal target for EBV-related cancers (PMID: 25607557). The EBNA1-derived peptide presented on the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), or Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) in humans, serves as a critical cell-surface marker for the immune system to identify latently infected cells (PMID: 15140980). Although EBNA1 contains a glycine-alanine repeat domain that inhibits its own proteasomal degradation to evade CD8+ T-cell detection, specific peptides such as VYGGSKTSL (presented by HLA-A*02:01) are still processed and presented at levels sufficient for recognition by engineered therapies (PMID: 11160745). Therapeutic strategies targeting this pMHC complex include TCR-engineered T cells, TCR-like antibodies, and allogeneic T-cell therapies like Tabelecleucel, which aim to induce selective lysis of EBV-positive cells (Atara Biotherapeutics, 2024).

Other names

EBNA1-HLA complexEBNA1-derived peptide presented on HLAEpstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 peptide-MHCEBNA1-pMHC

Recognition of the EBNA1 peptide-MHC complex by T-cell receptors (TCRs) or TCR-like antibodies to trigger cytotoxic cell death of EBV-infected cells.