Oropharyngeal shedding of Epstein-Barr virus in the absence of circulating B cells.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 18544038.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1086/589714 and PMC identifier 2679674.
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Abstract
Infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) results in lifelong infection of B cells in the peripheral blood and in episodic shedding of virus from the oropharynx. We monitored patients treated with rituximab (anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody) and found that several had both no detectable B cells and no EBV in the blood but shed EBV from the throat. Although some models postulate that EBV traffics from the B cells in the blood to the throat, where it is subsequently shed, our findings indicate that circulating EBV in B cells is not necessary for the virus to persist in, and to be shed from, the oropharynx.
Medical subject headings
- B-Lymphocytes
- Epstein-Barr Virus Infections
- Herpesvirus 4, Human
- Oropharynx
- Virus Shedding