Epstein–Barr virus

A team from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington in the US developed antibodies that target two proteins on the surface of EBV particles. Blocking their activity would prevent EBV from taking hold in the first place and may also be enough to prevent its reactivation later in life. In experiments with mice carrying human-like immune systems, one of those antibodies protected the animals from EBV infection. The work done here also gets around a perennial problem with developing EBV antibodies: the virus is so ubiquitous in its attack on the body that finding specific immune cells designed to fight it and to base antibodies on becomes very difficult. "Finding human antibodies that block Epstein-Barr virus from infecting our immune cells has been particularly challenging because, unlike other viruses, EBV finds a way to bind to nearly every one of our B cells," says biochemist Andrew McGuire. Specially bred mice were used to produce human antibodies. (Chhan et al., Cell Rep. Med. , 2026) "Not only did we identify important antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus, but we also validated an innovative new approach for discovering protective antibodies against other pathogens," says pathobiologist Crystal Chhan. When EBV causes noticeable illness in humans, it usually first presents as infectious mononucleosis, also known as glandular fever . After that, it sticks around in the body in a dormant, noninfectious state and can become much more dangerous – especially in those with weakened immune systems. One hope for these antibodies is that they might be used in the hundreds of thousands of organ and bone marrow transplants performed each year. These transplants require immunosuppression, which can leave people vulnerable to EBV. In particular, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) driven by EBV are a problem. This is where lymphocytes (those B cells again) can get out of control, leading to life-threatening cancers. "Preventing EBV viremia has strong potential to reduce the incidence of PTLD and limit the need to reduce immunosuppression," says infectious disease physician Rachel Bender Ignacio. Blocking infection could be particularly helpful in transplant cases involving children, who may not yet have been exposed to EBV. There's a lot more work to do to reach the treatment stage, but it's encouraging that we've found new ways to stop EBV from infecting human immune cells. The next stage is to work towards human safety testing and clinical trials .