Abstract
To diagnose Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated diseases and to explore the pathogenesis of EBV infection, not only must the EBV load be measured, but EBV-infected cells must also be identified. We established a novel flow cytometric in situ hybridization assay to detect EBV(+) suspension cells using a peptide nucleic acid probe specific for EBV-encoded small RNA (EBER). By enhancing fluorescence and photostability, we successfully stained EBER and surface antigens on the same cells. In 3 patients with hydroa vacciniforme-like lymphoproliferative disease, we demonstrated that 1.7%-25.9% of peripheral lymphocytes were infected with EBV and specifically identified these lymphocytes as CD3(+)CD4(-)CD8(-) gammadelta T cell receptor-positive T cells. The results indicate that this novel and noninvasive assay is a direct and reliable method of characterizing EBV-infected lymphocytes that can be used not only to diagnose EBV infection but also to clarify the pathogenesis of EBV-associated diseases.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1078-87 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Infectious Diseases |
Volume | 200 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2009 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Child
- Flow Cytometry
- Herpesvirus 4, Human
- Humans
- Hydroa Vacciniforme
- In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
- Lymphocyte Subsets
- Lymphoproliferative Disorders
- Male
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- Transplantation
- Journal Article
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't