Epstein-Barr virus also causes cancer

Variation of Epstein-Barr virus can cause cancer

11/10/2013

The Epstein-Barr virus belongs to the herpesviruses. Researchers from Heidelberg and Zurich recently discovered that regional variants of the virus trigger different diseases. Thus, the Epstein-Barr virus in Asia and Africa increases the risk of certain types of cancer increase, while in Europe, especially the „Kiss disease“ a consequence of the infection with the virus.

Variants of Epstein-Barr virus carry different risks
More than 90 percent of people carry Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The infection is usually already in childhood or adolescence by droplet or contact infection, for example, when kissing. How big the danger, which emanates from the virus, strongly depends on the exciter strain. According to a new study, different variants of EBV behave differently and can also attack different body cells. This is reported by Henri-Jacques Delecluse of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and his Zurich colleagues in the journal „Cell Reports”. Vaccinations should therefore specifically target the particularly aggressive strains of the virus, the researchers conclude.

While the causative agent in Europe may cause glandular fever, commonly referred to as a kiss disease, and usually mild, the virus increases the risk of Burkitt's lymphoma in Africa and of nasopharyngeal cancer in Southeast Asia. The cause seems to be due to differences in the genome of the virus.

Aggressive variant of Epstein-Barr virus can attack epithelial cells of the mucous membranes
Delecluse and his colleagues studied EBV from a North American patient with glandular septic fever and a Chinese diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. As it turned out, the American's virus had only infected the B-cells of the immune system. In the Chinese patient, who carried the virus variant M18, also epithelial cells of the mucous membranes were attacked very efficiently.

Although the researchers were already aware of the differences in the genome of different variants of the EBV, they are only now finding out that these also favor various diseases. „Our results have radically changed my attitude on how to deal with the problem of EBV-related diseases”, Delecluse told the news agency „dpa“. „So far, we thought that the Epstein-Barr virus is the same everywhere in the world. Now we know that there are different strains of virus and that we need to focus on developing strains that are particularly aggressive in developing vaccines.”

Pfeiffer's glandular fever is usually harmless
In Europe, the EB virus causes mainly Pfeiffer's glandular fever. Affected, mostly adolescents, usually suffer from flu-like symptoms such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, severe fatigue and an inflammation of the throat or tonsils. In addition, abdominal pain, headache, enlarged spleen, loss of appetite, muscle pain, general weakness and fatigue, dizziness, chills, night sweats and other symptoms may occur. In many cases, however, infection with the EBV is symptom-free. (Ag)