Antibodies to Epstein-Barr Viral Capsid and Early Antigens Associated with Burkitt's Lymphoma and Lymphoblastic Lymphosarcoma in Israel2

Abstract

Before and/or after chemotherapy was administered to patients with Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) or lymphoblastic lymphosarcoma (LLS), their sera and those of matched controls were tested for antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen (VCA) and early antigen by the indirect immunofluorescence method. Ten of the 16 BL patients were Arab children and 8 of the 11 LLS patients were Jews of Asian-African origin. Although half the BL patients did not have elevated antibody titers when their disease was diagnosed, significantly higher ones were detected in the BL group as compared with the LLS patients and their matched controls; Arab patients had the highest titers. IgM antibodies specific for VCA were found in 2 patients concurrently with elevated titers. We found no correlation between the clinical course of BL and the patients' antibody titers to EBV.

Stimulation of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in acute viral infections

“…Antibodies to EB.VCA and early antigen (EA) were determined by the indirect immunoftuorescence (IF) method (7,10). PaHB-1 ceils were used for demonstration of EB-VCA.…”

Evidence for type‐C retrovirus production by Burkitt's lymphoma‐derived cell line

“…The P3HR-1 lymphoblastoid cell line, originally established by Pulvertaft (1965) from a Burkitt's lymphoma, is routinely used in the Central Virus Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Tel-Aviv-Jaffa for determination of antibodies directed towards the EBV capsid antigen (VCA) (Gotlieb-Stematsky et. al., 1976).…”

EBV‐positive Burkitt's lymphoma from algeria, with a three‐way rearrangement involving chromosomes 2, 8 and 9

“…Although this association is characteristic of endemic African BL, it has been reported in only a minority of non-endemic cases (Lenoir el a[., 1979). However, virological data for non-endemic Arab cases are rare (Goldblum et al, 1977;Prokocimer et 1980) or partial (Aghai et al, 1974;Gotlieb-Stematsky et al, 1976); and most of these studies are from the Middle East (Aghai et al, 1974;Gotlieb-Stematsky et al, 1976;Goldblum et al, 1977;Al-Attar et al, 1979;Prokocimer et al, 1980). Two Tunisian cases of EBV-positive BL have been reported, with no details, in a meeting abstract (Capske and Kalifat, 1979); and all six cases of Algerian BL studied last year at the Centre =on-BCrard, Lyon, were found to be EBV-associated (unpublished data), The question arises whether BL in North Africa should be separated from other nonendemic cases with regard to frequency of EBV association.…”

“…The scattered reports of North African BL that are available are not well documented with regard to virological and cytogenetic studies (Kalbian, 1967;Say et al, 1967;Cammoun et al, 1972;Tinaztere et al, 1973;Cehreli and Tosun, 1975;Capske and Kalifat, 1979). More detailed data on Arab cases living in Israel have been published (Hulu et al, 1970;Aghai et al, 1974;Gotlieb-Stematsky et al, 1976;Goldblum et al, 1977;Buchner et al, 1978;Selzer et al, 1979a,b;Prokocimer et al, 1980); but the frequency of EBV association is not well defined, and cytogenetic data are available in only one case (Prokocimer et al, 1980).…”