Epstein-Barr virus Latent Membrane Protein 2A-derived peptide–Human Leukocyte Antigen complexes (LMP2A-pMHC complexes)

LMP2A-derived peptide–HLA class I/II complexes are molecular assemblies on the surface of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected cells, comprising fragments of the Latent Membrane Protein 2A (LMP2A) presented by Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) molecules (JPT Peptide Technologies, 2024). LMP2A is a viral protein that plays a pivotal role in maintaining EBV latency by mimicking B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling, thereby promoting the survival of infected B cells and epithelial cells (Frontiers in Immunology, 2021). These complexes are essential for the adaptive immune system to identify and eliminate EBV-infected cells through T-cell receptor (TCR) recognition (NIH, 2020). Because LMP2A is consistently expressed in several EBV-associated malignancies—including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), Hodgkin lymphoma, and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD)—these pMHC complexes are highly specific therapeutic targets (JCI Insight, 2018). Current drug development efforts focus on adoptive cell therapies, such as TCR-engineered T cells (TCR-T) and TCR-like chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T), as well as bispecific antibodies that mimic TCR specificity (JCI, 2025). Despite their potential, therapeutic efficacy can be limited by viral mechanisms that downregulate HLA expression or by the risk of T-cell cross-reactivity with similar self-peptides (The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2024).

Other names

LMP2A-HLA complexesLMP2A peptide-MHC complexesEBV LMP2A-pMHCHLA-restricted LMP2A epitopesLMP2A-derived peptide–MHC complexes

Targeted cell lysis via T-cell recognition of viral peptide-HLA complexes