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Review
. 2020 May;33(4):316-326.
doi: 10.1089/vim.2019.0126. Epub 2020 Jan 8.

Gammaherpesviruses and B Cells: A Relationship That Lasts a Lifetime

Kaitlin E Johnson  1 , Vera L Tarakanova  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Gammaherpesviruses and B Cells: A Relationship That Lasts a Lifetime

Kaitlin E Johnson et al. Viral Immunol. 2020 May.

Abstract

Gammaherpesviruses are highly prevalent pathogens that establish life-long infection and are associated with diverse malignancies, including lymphoproliferative diseases and B cell lymphomas. Unlike other viruses that either do not infect B cells or infect B cells transiently, gammaherpesviruses manipulate physiological B cell differentiation to establish life-long infection in memory B cells. Disruption of such viral manipulation by genetic or environmental causes is likely to seed viral lymphomagenesis. In this review, we discuss physiological and unique host and viral mechanisms usurped by gammaherpesviruses to fine tune host B cell biology for optimal infection establishment and maintenance.

Keywords: B cell differentiation; chronic infection; gammaherpesvirus; germinal center response; latency.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Germinal center model of gammaherpesvirus infection. Gammaherpesviruses infect naive B cells, followed by activation and entry of both infected and bystander B cells into the germinal center reaction. Latently infected B cells (indicated by red viral episome in the nucleus) undergo cycles of proliferation, somatic hypermutation, and selection to emerge as latently infected memory B cells or plasma cells. Differentiation into plasma cells triggers viral reactivation, with subsequent production of infectious virions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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