A single protein helps the body keep watch over the Epstein-Barr virus
Sunday, February 19, 2012 - 13:30
in Health & Medicine
Some 90 percent of people are exposed to the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) at some point in their life. Even though it is quickly cleared from the body, the virus can linger silently for years in small numbers of infected B cells. According to researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Immune Disease Institute (IDI), the immune system subdues the virus by watching for a single viral protein called LMP1, knowledge that has already helped suggest two new treatments for the EBV-fueled cancers seen in some immunosuppressed patients.