Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 2 (LMP2) (LMP2)

Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 2 (LMP2) is a viral protein expressed during the latency II and III phases of EBV infection, playing a pivotal role in viral persistence and oncogenesis (UniProt P13285). It exists in two isoforms, LMP2A and LMP2B, where LMP2A mimics a constitutively active B-cell receptor to provide survival signals to infected cells, thereby preventing apoptosis and bypassing normal selection checkpoints (PubMed: 25403625). As a foreign viral antigen consistently present in EBV-associated malignancies like nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkin lymphoma, LMP2 is an ideal target for immunotherapy (PubMed: 16103347). Therapeutic strategies often utilize dendritic cells to present LMP2-derived peptides to the immune system, which primes and expands cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) to specifically target and eliminate EBV-positive tumor cells (PubMed: 30635914). Current clinical efforts include the development of adoptive T-cell therapies and therapeutic vaccines aimed at harnessing this antigen-specific response to treat refractory EBV-related cancers.

Other names

EBV LMP2Latent membrane protein 2ALatent membrane protein 2BLMP2ALMP2B

Induction of adaptive immune responses where dendritic cells present LMP2-derived epitopes via MHC molecules to activate and expand antigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells.