ANTIBODIES TO A NEW ANTIGEN INDUCED BY EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS IN PATIENTS WITH NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA, LEUKEMIA, MALIGNANT LYMPHOMA, AND IN CONTROL GROUPS

Abstract

Titration of antibodies against a new non-virion antigen induced by Epstein-Barr (EB) virus (anti-N) in sera from patients with malignant and non-malignant diseases, as well as sera from healthy blood donors was performed by means of an indirect immunofluorescence procedure. The results reaffirmed the unusual frequency (72%) of anti-N in sera from nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. The incidence of anti-N was also high in sera from patients with acute and chronic lymphatic leukemia (38%) and with malignant lymphomas (17%). In contrast, less than 7% of sera from patients with other neoplasms and with infectious mononucleosis had anti-N. Healthy donors uniformly failed to have positive anti-N (1:10). Forty-four percent of sera with anti-N gave titers of anti-virion (anti-V) in the normal range (_??_1:160), and only 4% of sera with negative anti-N from neoplasm patients had a high titer (_??_1:320) of anti-V. These findings suggest that the detection of anti-N is more specific than the titration of anti-V for examination of the relationship between malignant diseases and EB virus infection.