@article{mbs:/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-74-5-811, author = "Frech, Barbara and Zimber-Strobl, Ursula and Yip, Timothy T. C. and Lau, W. H. and Mueller-Lantzsch, Nikolaus", title = "Characterization of the Antibody Response to the Latent Infection Terminal Proteins of Epstein-Barr Virus in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma", journal= "Journal of General Virology", year = "1993", volume = "74", number = "5", pages = "811-818", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-74-5-811", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-74-5-811", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1465-2099", type = "Journal Article", abstract = "Human sera were tested for antibodies against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent infection terminal proteins (TPs). Anti-TP IgG and IgA antibodies were detected by an indirect immunofluorescence assay of insect cells expressing a recombinant TP1. Out of 301 human sera of patients with EBV-related and EBV-unrelated disorders, only sera from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) (32/83; 38%) showed anti-TP antibodies. Studies on serial sera from German and Hong Kong NPC patients revealed a decline of anti-TP antibodies during tumour therapy, and none of these antibodies were identified in patients with early tumour stages or in remission. Comparative studies of TP1-specific polyclonal rabbit antisera and human TP-positive sera showed clear differences in the TP epitopes recognized by each. Human antisera contained antibodies only to native epitopes in exons 2 to 7 of TP1 whereas rabbit antisera reacted only with epitopes located in the first exon and, additionally, exhibited EBV strain specificities.", }