Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with multiple malignancies including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In nasopharynx cancer, CD8+ T cells specific for EBV Nuclear Antigen-1 (EBNA-1) and Latent Membrane Protein 2 (LMP2) are important components of anti-tumor immunity since both are consistently expressed in NPC. We have previously shown that EBNA-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses were suppressed in NPC patients compared to healthy controls. We now find that CD8+ T cell responses specific for LMP2 are also abnormal in NPC patients, and both EBNA-1- and LMP2-specific responses are suppressed by regulatory T cells (Treg). EBNA-1 and LMP2-specific CD8+ T cell responses, as well as immune control of EBV-infected cells in vitro, could be restored by the depletion of Tregs and by use of a clinically approved drug targeting Tregs. Thus, in vivo modulation of Tregs may be an effective means of enhancing these anti-tumor immune responses in NPC patients.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 107-113 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Virology |
Volume | 441 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 5 2013 |
Funding
This work was supported by Grants from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Friends of Head and Neck Cancer Research and the National Institutes of Health ( CA68051 , CA132279 ). We thank the Head and Neck Clinical Research Team at the DFCI for managing clinical sample collection and all of the NPC patients and healthy donors who so generously contributed blood for these studies. Appendix A
Keywords
- CD8+ T cells
- Epstein-Barr virus
- Nasopharyngeal carcinoma
- Ontak
- T regulatory cells
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Virology