AUTHOR=Münz Christian 

TITLE=Modification of EBV-Associated Pathologies and Immune Control by Coinfections

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.756480

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.756480

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>The oncogenic Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) persistently infects more than 95% of the human adult population. Even so it can readily transform human B cells after infection <italic>in vitro</italic>, it only rarely causes tumors in patients. A substantial proportion of the 1% of all human cancers that are associated with EBV occurs during coinfections, including those with the malaria parasite <italic>Plasmodium falciparum</italic>, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the also oncogenic and closely EBV-related Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). In this review, I will discuss how these infections interact with EBV, modify its immune control, and shape its tumorigenesis. The underlying mechanisms reveal new aspects of EBV-associated pathologies and point toward treatment possibilities for their prevention by the human immune system.</p>