Background information
Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is a member of the herpesvirus family and one of the most common human viruses. Most people become infected with EBV during their lives. Primary infections usually results in infectious mononucleosis (glandular fever) but the virus can also lay dormant in B lymphocytes and when reactivated become associated with more serious disease such as Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkin's disease. EBV latently infects B lymphocytes. Infected B cells express EBV nuclear antigens and latent proteins LMP1, LMP2A and LMP2B. LMP2A forms aggregates in the plasma membranes of B lymphocytes, where it functions as a negative regulator of the Src and Syk protein tyrosine kinases. Studies show that LMP2A blocks B-cell receptor (BCR) signal transduction in EBV immortalized B cells in vitro and may play an important role in maintaining a latent EBV infection within the peripheral blood B cells of infected individuals.
