January 2000, Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages 40 - 47

Paper

Human immunodeficiency virus-positive individuals with oral hairy leukoplakia are able to mount cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses to Epstein-Barr virus A de Jong1,3, JM Palefsky1,2, DP Stites1 & M Nakagawa1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA     2Department of Stomatology, Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA     3Schools of Medical Biology and Medicine, Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands     Correspondence to: Dr Mayumi Nakagawa , Box 0134, Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0134, USA. Tel: +1 415 476 1394, Fax: +1 415 476 9625, E-mail: mayumi@pangloss.ucsf.edu

Keywords

oral hairy leukoplakia;   Epstein-Barr virus;   cytotoxic T lymphocyte

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL) is a white lesion of the tongue that is caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and occurs mainly in people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The aim of this study was to determine whether the presence of OHL reflects the absence of EBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: EBV-specific CTL responses were measured in HIV-positive homosexual men with OHL, HIV-positive homosexual men without OHL, and HIV-negative homosexual men. Also, the phenotypes of cells responsible for EBV-specific responses were studied. RESULTS: Eighty percent (8/10) of HIV-positive subjects with OHL, 52% (12/23) of HIV-positive subjects without OHL, and 83% (15/18) HIV-negative subjects had a positive anti-EBV CTL response (P = 0.004, Kruskal-Wallis test). Two HIV-positive subjects showed a greater anti-EBV CTL response after developing OHL than before the appearance of OHL. Additional experiments showed that CD8-positive T cells and CD4-positive T cells were responsible for the EBV-specific CTL responses. CONCLUSION: Our data show more EBV-specific CTL activities in HIV-positive individuals with OHL than in HIV-positive individuals without OHL. Whether the presence of EBV-specific CTL contributes to resolution of OHL remains to be clarified. Oral Diseases (2000) 6, 40-47

Received 11 January 1999; Revised 16 June 1999; Accepted 16 June 1999

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