T cell-mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent Epstein-Barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through NKG2D-NKG2DL interactions

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B cells effectively induce T cell-mediated immune surveillance that suppresses the proliferation of EBV+ B cells and development of lymphomas. However, it remains unclear whether EBV-specific T cells are involved in the surveillance of EBV-negative general tumors. T...

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Main Authors: Yuqi Jin, Yun Guo, Yohei Kawano, Megumi Sasatani, Shun Ohki, Keita Yamane, Yusei Ota, Yumi Tamura, Yusuke Sotomaru, Yoshihiro Baba, Tomoharu Yasuda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Immunology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1597731/full
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author Yuqi Jin
Yun Guo
Yohei Kawano
Megumi Sasatani
Shun Ohki
Keita Yamane
Yusei Ota
Yumi Tamura
Yusuke Sotomaru
Yoshihiro Baba
Tomoharu Yasuda
author_facet Yuqi Jin
Yun Guo
Yohei Kawano
Megumi Sasatani
Shun Ohki
Keita Yamane
Yusei Ota
Yumi Tamura
Yusuke Sotomaru
Yoshihiro Baba
Tomoharu Yasuda
author_sort Yuqi Jin
collection DOAJ
description Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B cells effectively induce T cell-mediated immune surveillance that suppresses the proliferation of EBV+ B cells and development of lymphomas. However, it remains unclear whether EBV-specific T cells are involved in the surveillance of EBV-negative general tumors. To address this issue, we induced immune surveillance by expressing key EBV antigens, LMP1 and LMP2A, in germinal center B cells and investigated the formation of non-B cell tumors. LMP1/2A mice showed a significantly reduced incidence of radiation-induced T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL) even in the absence of LMP antigens in tumor cells and an extended life-span compared to control mice. LMP1/2A mice showed significantly higher numbers of activated memory T cells in both CD4+ and CD8+ αβT cell fractions compared to controls, suggesting their role in the elimination of tumor cells. Despite nearly absent MHC class I expression, tumor cells were effectively killed by CD8+ T cells activated upon LMP1/2A-expressing B cells. Transcriptome analysis identified upregulation of the NKG2D-NKG2DL pathway, emphasizing the capacity of LMP1/2A-induced T cells in the recognition of common tumor specific antigens. Moreover, not only T-cell tumors, but also intestinal tumors caused by ApcMin mutation were significantly suppressed by the LMP1/2A-induced immune surveillance. These results suggest that LMP1/2A-expression associated with EBV infection contributes to pan-tumor surveillance, implicating a beneficial aspect of EBV infection in humans and providing important insights into cancer prevention.
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spelling doaj-art-3256173ebbb14013a16a07bbbce9a3ff2025-08-20T03:07:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242025-06-011610.3389/fimmu.2025.15977311597731T cell-mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent Epstein-Barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through NKG2D-NKG2DL interactionsYuqi Jin0Yun Guo1Yohei Kawano2Megumi Sasatani3Shun Ohki4Keita Yamane5Yusei Ota6Yumi Tamura7Yusuke Sotomaru8Yoshihiro Baba9Tomoharu Yasuda10Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanDepartment of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanDepartment of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanDepartment of Experimental Oncology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanDepartment of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanDepartment of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanDepartment of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanDepartment of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanNatural Science Center for Basic Research and Development, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanDivision of Immunology and Genome Biology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, JapanDepartment of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, JapanEpstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B cells effectively induce T cell-mediated immune surveillance that suppresses the proliferation of EBV+ B cells and development of lymphomas. However, it remains unclear whether EBV-specific T cells are involved in the surveillance of EBV-negative general tumors. To address this issue, we induced immune surveillance by expressing key EBV antigens, LMP1 and LMP2A, in germinal center B cells and investigated the formation of non-B cell tumors. LMP1/2A mice showed a significantly reduced incidence of radiation-induced T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL) even in the absence of LMP antigens in tumor cells and an extended life-span compared to control mice. LMP1/2A mice showed significantly higher numbers of activated memory T cells in both CD4+ and CD8+ αβT cell fractions compared to controls, suggesting their role in the elimination of tumor cells. Despite nearly absent MHC class I expression, tumor cells were effectively killed by CD8+ T cells activated upon LMP1/2A-expressing B cells. Transcriptome analysis identified upregulation of the NKG2D-NKG2DL pathway, emphasizing the capacity of LMP1/2A-induced T cells in the recognition of common tumor specific antigens. Moreover, not only T-cell tumors, but also intestinal tumors caused by ApcMin mutation were significantly suppressed by the LMP1/2A-induced immune surveillance. These results suggest that LMP1/2A-expression associated with EBV infection contributes to pan-tumor surveillance, implicating a beneficial aspect of EBV infection in humans and providing important insights into cancer prevention.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1597731/fullEpstein-Barr virusLMP1LMP2Aimmune surveillanceradiation-induced tumorT-ALL
spellingShingle Yuqi Jin
Yun Guo
Yohei Kawano
Megumi Sasatani
Shun Ohki
Keita Yamane
Yusei Ota
Yumi Tamura
Yusuke Sotomaru
Yoshihiro Baba
Tomoharu Yasuda
T cell-mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent Epstein-Barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through NKG2D-NKG2DL interactions
Frontiers in Immunology
Epstein-Barr virus
LMP1
LMP2A
immune surveillance
radiation-induced tumor
T-ALL
title T cell-mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent Epstein-Barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through NKG2D-NKG2DL interactions
title_full T cell-mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent Epstein-Barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through NKG2D-NKG2DL interactions
title_fullStr T cell-mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent Epstein-Barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through NKG2D-NKG2DL interactions
title_full_unstemmed T cell-mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent Epstein-Barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through NKG2D-NKG2DL interactions
title_short T cell-mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent Epstein-Barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through NKG2D-NKG2DL interactions
title_sort t cell mediated immune surveillance conferred by latent epstein barr virus genes suppresses a broad spectrum of tumor formation through nkg2d nkg2dl interactions
topic Epstein-Barr virus
LMP1
LMP2A
immune surveillance
radiation-induced tumor
T-ALL
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1597731/full
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