Epstein‐barr virus‐related herpesvirus from a rhesus monkey (Macaca Mulatta) with malignant lymphoma

Abstract

A herpesvirus (RhEBV) was isolated from a lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) that became established from a malignant lymphoma in a rhesus monkey. The predominant cell marker in the LCL was that of B lymphocytes. RhEBV-induced viral capsid (VCA) and nuclear antigens (NA) in the LCL were serologically related to similar antigens known to be induced by human Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). RhEBV was of nonhuman primate origin and was clearly differentiated from EBV in the anti-complement immunofluorescence reaction using human and non-human primate sera with antibodies to the NA induced by the respective viruses. While human sera reacted with NA induced by both EBV and RhEBV, monkey sera failed to recognize the NA induced by EBV. RhEBV-induced NA was present in nearly all the cells of a suspension prepared from the tumor tissue mass, but not in the monolayer fibroblasts derived from the tumor tissue or in the blood and lymph-node lymphocytes of clinically healthy animals. RhEBV induced in vitro transformation and establishment of LCLs from peripheral blood lymphocytes of normal rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys but not from those of 6 other non-human primate species tested. The LCLs, with predominant B-lymphocyte markers, established after treatment with RhEBV, all had evidence of the virus infection since nearly all cells in the culture expressed the virus-induced NA.

Simian homologues of Epstein–Barr virus

“…Animals shed virus in oral secretions and harbour persistent, asymptomatic LCV infection in the peripheral blood, indicating a similar balance between immunological control and virus immune evasion to that observed in humans. These studies were made possible by (i) the isolation of a rhesus LCV isolate (Rangan et al 1986), and (ii) development of speci¢c pathogen-free macaque colonies that provide a routine source of LCVnaive animals (Desrosiers 1997). Thus, rhesus macaques and their naturally occurring LCV provide a model system for experimentally testing the role of speci¢c viral genes for LCV pathogenesis in vivo.…”

Necropsy Findings in Rhesus Monkeys Experimentally Infected with Cultured Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)/Delta

“…48 SIV was also identified in one of the lymphoblastoid cell lines2 and subsequently isolated from peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues from other animals in the cell-suspension transmission study.…”

The BZLF1 Homolog of an Epstein-Barr-Related γ-Herpesvirus Is a Frequent Target of the CTL Response in Persistently Infected Rhesus Macaques

“…A B cell immortalizing ␥-herpesvirus (Cercopithicine herpesvirus 15, rhesus lymphocryptovirus (rhLCV)) homologous to EBV at both the genomic and protein level (15) naturally infects rhesus macaques (16). Similar to EBV infection in humans, rhLCV infection is ubiquitous among rhesus macaques (17), and establishes a life-long asymptomatic persistent infection in B cells associated with periodic reactivation and shedding of virus in oral secretions.…”