A single epitope of Epstein-Barr Virus stimulate IgG production in mice

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is closely associated with the high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in worldwide. Vaccination is one strategy with the potential to prevent the occurrence of EBV-associated cancers, but a suitable vaccine is yet to be licensed. Much vaccine development research focuses on the GP350/220 protein of EBV as it contains an immunogenic epitope at residues 147-165, which efficiently stimulates IgG production in vitro. We examined the ability of this epitope (EBVepitope) to induce IgG production in mice.

Methods: The antibody binding pattern of the epitope was analyzed using bioinformatics tools. The IgG production in mice were examined by FACS Calibur™ Flow cytometer.

Results: The epitope bound the 72A1 monoclonal antibody at the same site as GP350/220 protein, indicating that the epitope should stimulate B cells to produce antibody. Moreover, in vivo administration of EBVepitope successfully induced IgG expression from B cells, compared with controls. Further investigation indicated that the relative number of B cells expressing IgE in EBVepitope-treated mice was lower than controls.

Conclusions: Our data suggest that this EBV GP350 epitope is able to induce IgG expression in vivo without causing allergic reactions, and represents a potential EBV vaccine candidate.