1997/07/01 by Hirokazu Kanegane, Hiroshi Wakiguchi, Chiharu Kanegane +2 · 8 citations
Medicine · Immunology and Microbiology · #Viral-associated cancers and disorders #Lymphoma Diagnosis and Treatment #Immune Cell Function and Interaction
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/517260
Viral interleukin-10 (IL-10), a product of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replication gene BCRF1, shares extensive structural and functional similarity with the human cytokine IL-10. Both viral and human IL-10 inhibit T cell growth and interferon-gamma production. With two ELISAs, one that recognized both human and viral (total) IL-10 and the other specific for viral IL-10, IL-10 was measured in serum or plasma from 34 patients with chronic active EBV infection (CAEBV) and from 15 healthy controls. Of the patients, 56% had measurable total IL-10 and 29% had measurable viral IL-10. In contrast, total IL-10 was detectable in only 2 of 15 controls and viral IL-10 was undetectable. Thus, many patients with CAEBV have abnormally high levels of circulating IL-10 that may contribute to disease pathogenesis by inhibiting host immunity.