Epstein-Barr virus latent antigen peptide-major histocompatibility complex (EBV latent antigen pMHC)

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent antigens presented as peptide-MHC (pMHC) complexes are critical targets for cellular immunotherapy in EBV-associated malignancies and lymphoproliferative disorders (Taylor et al., 2015, Nature Reviews Immunology). During the latent phase of infection, EBV expresses a limited set of proteins, including EBV nuclear antigens (EBNA1, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, and LP) and latent membrane proteins (LMP1 and LMP2) (Longnecker et al., 2013, Fields Virology). These proteins are intracellularly processed into short peptides and presented on the cell surface by Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules, primarily MHC Class I (Amon and Farrell, 2005, Reviews in Medical Virology). This presentation allows the immune system, specifically CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, to identify and eliminate infected cells. In therapeutic contexts, such as post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) or EBV-positive lymphomas, these pMHC complexes are targeted by adoptive T-cell therapies like tabelecleucel (Ebvallo) or engineered TCR-T cells (Prockop et al., 2020, Journal of Clinical Investigation). Because these antigens are viral in origin, they provide a high degree of specificity for infected or malignant cells, minimizing damage to healthy tissue (Bollard and Heslop, 2016, Blood). The effectiveness of these therapies depends on the presence of specific HLA alleles and the expression levels of the targeted latent antigens within the tumor microenvironment.

Other names

EBV pMHCEBV latent membrane protein peptide-HLA complexEBV nuclear antigen peptide-HLA complexEBV-specific peptide-MHCEBV-LMP/EBNA pMHC

T-cell receptor (TCR) mediated recognition of viral peptides presented on MHC molecules, triggering cytotoxic activity against EBV-infected cells (Hislop et al., 2007, Annual Review of Immunology).