Epstein-Barr viral miRNAs inhibit antiviral CD4(+) T cell responses targeting IL-12 and peptide processing

Tagawa, Takanobu; Albanese, Manuel; Bouvet, Mickael; Moosmann, Andreas; Mautner, Josef; Heissmeyer, Vigo; Zielinski, Christina; Lutter, Dominik; Hoser, Jonathan; Hastreiter, Maximilian; Hayes, Mitch; Sugden, Bill und Hammerschmidt, Wolfgang (2016): Epstein-Barr viral miRNAs inhibit antiviral CD4(+) T cell responses targeting IL-12 and peptide processing. In: Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol. 213, No. 10: pp. 2065-2080

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a tumor virus that establishes lifelong infection in most of humanity, despite eliciting strong and stable virus-specific immune responses. EBV encodes at least 44 miRNAs, most of them with unknown function. Here, we show that multiple EBV miRNAs modulate immune recognition of recently infected primary B cells, EBV's natural target cells. EBV miRNAs collectively and specifically suppress release of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-12, repress differentiation of naive CD4(+) T cells to Th1 cells, interfere with peptide processing and presentation on HLA class II, and thus reduce activation of cytotoxic EBV-specific CD4(+) effector T cells and killing of infected B cells. Our findings identify a previously unknown viral strategy of immune evasion. By rapidly expressing multiple miRNAs, which are themselves nonimmunogenic, EBV counteracts recognition by CD4(+) T cells and establishes a program of reduced immunogenicity in recently infected B cells, allowing the virus to express viral proteins required for establishment of life-long infection.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Medicine
• Subjects: 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health
• ISSN: 0022-1007
• Language: English