Tumor cells and Epstein-Barr virus-infected cells

Tumor cells and Epstein-Barr virus-infected cells refers to a broad category of pathological cells characterized by the presence of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome and the expression of viral or tumor-associated antigens (Source: NIH, National Cancer Institute). EBV is a ubiquitous herpesvirus linked to several malignancies, including Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and gastric cancer (Source: StatPearls, Epstein-Barr Virus). In these cells, the virus typically exists in a latent state, expressing a limited set of proteins such as EBNA1, LMP1, and LMP2, which drive cell proliferation and survival while evading the host immune system (Source: UniProt, EBNA1/LMP1). Therapeutic strategies targeting these cells often involve adoptive T-cell therapies, such as tabelecleucel, which utilize EBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes to recognize and eliminate infected cells (Source: EMA, Ebvallo). Other approaches include the use of monoclonal antibodies against surface markers like CD20 or the induction of the viral lytic cycle to make the cells susceptible to antiviral drugs like ganciclovir (Source: PubMed, PMID: 21385104). Monitoring of these cells is often performed using biomarkers such as EBV-encoded small RNAs (EBER) or viral DNA load in the blood (Source: PubMed, PMID: 25403628). Because this target represents a heterogeneous population of cells rather than a single molecule, clinical focus is usually directed toward specific viral antigens or cell-surface receptors expressed by these cells.

Other names

EBV-positive tumor cellsEBV-associated malignant cellsEBV-infected cellsEpstein-Barr virus-positive cells

Therapeutic strategies involve adoptive immunotherapy using EBV-specific T-cells to recognize viral antigens, monoclonal antibodies targeting cell-surface markers, or lytic induction to sensitize cells to antivirals.