The Epstein-Barr Virus Major Tegument Protein BNRF1 Is a Common Target of Cytotoxic CD4 + T Cells

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus is carried by most humans and can cause life-threatening diseases. Virus-specific T cells have been used in different clinical settings with variable success rates. One way to improve immunotherapy is to better suit T cell generation protocols to viral targets available in different diseases. BNRF1 is present in viral particles and therefore likely available as a target for T cells in diseases with virus amplification. Here, we studied healthy Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) carriers for BNRF1 immunogenicity and report our results indicating BNRF1 to be a dominant target of the EBV-specific CD4 + T cell response. BNRF1-specific CD4 + T cells were found to be cytotoxic and capable of limiting EBV-driven B cell transformation in vitro . The findings of this work contribute to forwarding our understanding of host-virus interactions during health and disease and are expected to find direct application in the generation of specific T cells for immunotherapy.