Abstract
To study the effect of primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection on antigen-specific antibody production, we immunized 17 college students who had developed acute infectious mononucleosis with the T-cell dependent neoantigen bacteriophage φX174. During the early phase of infectious mononucleosis, the proportion of peripheral blood lymphocytes displaying la and T8 (CD8) phenotypes was increased and the T helper/suppressor ( T4 T8 ) ratio was decreased (<1). These abnormalities disappeared during the convalescent phase. Correlating with EBV-induced changes in T lymphocytes, we demonstrated depressed humoral immune responses to bacteriophage φX174 both in vivo and in vitro, In vitro coculture experiments indicated that the la + suppressor T cells could inhibit antibody production and isotype switch. Removal of T8 + lymphocytes from patient T cells normalized in vitro antibody synthesis. In addition, impaired B-cell function was shown to be in part responsible for deficient antibody production. These studies demonstrate that infection with EBV affects both B and T lymphocytes and causes a broad-based transient immune deficiency in patients with uncomplicated infections mononucleosis.
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