CD8⁺ T lymphocytes reactive against Epstein-Barr virus antigens in skin lesions of a patient with Sézary syndrome - 21/08/11

Doi : 10.1016/j.jaad.2005.07.044

Anne-Chantal Knol, PhD ^a, Yannick Guilloux, PhD ^a, Gaëlle Quéreux, MD ^b, Sonia Marques-Briand, MD ^b, Marie-Christine Pandolfino, PhD ^a,^c, Amir Khammari, PhD ^b, Brigitte Dreno, MD, PhD ^a,^b,^c,^⁎
^a From the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
^b Clinique Dermatologique
^c Unité de Thérapie Cellulaire et Génique, CHU Hotel-Dieu

Reprint requests: Brigitte Dreno, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, CHU Hotel-Dieu, Place Alexis Ricordeau, 44035 Nantes Cedex 01, France.

Nantes, France

Abstract

Several studies have investigated the possible involvement of viral agents, and among them herpes viruses, in the development of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The aim of our study was to determine whether T cells specific to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigens were detectable among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes infiltrating cutaneous lesions of a patient with Sézary syndrome. To analyze responses to EBV, we used a transient SV-40 origin-defective transformed simian cells transfection assay that permits an estimation of CD8 T-cell responses against a large number of HLA/viral protein combinations. This technique allowed the detection of EBV-specific T lymphocytes mainly directed against epitopes generated during the lytic cycle in the cutaneous lesions. This is, to our knowledge, the first description of the presence of EBV-specific T lymphocytes among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes infiltrating the lesional skin of a patient with Sézary syndrome.

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