Comparative Analysis of the Humoral Immune Response to the EBV Proteome across EBV-Related Malignancies

Abstract

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is linked to multiple cancers, including classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL).

Methods: Anti-EBV IgG and IgA antibody responses targeting 202 sequences from 86 EBV proteins were measured using the same EBV whole proteome array across four case-control studies investigating EBV-positive cHL, eBL, NPC, and NKTCL (407 cases/620 controls). We grouped EBV-targeted antibodies into pathways by immunoglobulin type (IgA and IgG) and life-cycle stage (latent, immediate early lytic, early lytic, late lytic, and glycoprotein) and evaluated their association with each cancer type. In an additional analysis, we focused on the subset of 46 individual antibodies representing the top candidates for each cancer and compared their associations across the four cancer types using multivariable linear regression models.

Results: IgA antibody responses targeting all EBV life-cycle stages were associated with NPC but limited to anti-early lytic stage for cHL. NPC and eBL were associated with IgG antibodies across the viral life cycle; cHL with antibodies in the early lytic, late lytic and glycoprotein stages; and NKTCL with antibodies in the latent, immediate early lytic and early lytic phases. EBNA3A, BBLF1, BDLF4, and BLRF2 IgG antibodies were associated with all cancer types.

Conclusions: Our observed similarities and differences across four EBV-associated cancers may inform EBV-related oncogenesis.

Impact: Understanding the comparative humoral immune response across EBV-related cancers may aid in identifying shared etiologic roles of EBV proteins and inform unique pathogenic processes for each cancer.

Figure 1:

Summary of IgA and IgG antibodies associations for EBV-related cancer types (A) IgA antibodies associations depicting p-values on the −log10 scale by viral life cycle within each EBV-related cancer type, and (B) IgG antibodies associations depicting p-values on the −log10 scale by viral life cycle within each EBV-related cancer type. The dashed line represents the statistically significant p-value threshold (p=0.004; corresponding to correction for 12 tests) after Bonferroni correction.