Subtypes of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in Hodgkin's disease: association
between B-type EBV and immunocompromise [see comments]
MJ Boyle, E Vasak, M Tschuchnigg, JJ Turner, T Sculley, R Penny, DA Cooper, B Tindall and WA Sewell
Centre for Immunology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been associated with Hodgkin's disease (HD) in
up to 50% of cases, but the subtype of EBV involved has only recently been
studied. In this report, biopsy samples from 30 patients with HD were
assessed for EBV sequences using both the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
and in situ hybridization (ISH). EBV sequences were localized to the
malignant Reed-Sternberg cells and their mononuclear variants (Hodgkin's
cells) in 9 of the 30 cases, with 7 demonstrating A- type and 2 B-type EBV
sequences. Both of the patients with B-type EBV- associated HD had features
to suggest pre-existing immune compromise: one was infected with human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and had severe CD4+ T-lymphocyte depletion;
the other was a debilitated elderly patient with dementia. A previous study
suggested that A-type EBV alone is associated with HD and the finding of
predominantly A-type EBV in the present series is in keeping with this
report. The presence of B- type EBV in the HD of patients with pre-existing
immunodeficiency, taken together with the recent report that B-type EBV
occurs in HIV- associated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, suggests that B-type EBV
may be an important human pathogen in immunocompromised patients.
Volume 81,
Issue 2,
pp. 468-474,
01/15/1993
Copyright © 1993 by The American Society of Hematology
