Patients with X-linked lymphoproliferative (XLP) disease due to deficiency in the adaptor molecule signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-associated protein (SAP) are highly susceptible to one specific viral pathogen, the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This susceptibility might result from impaired CD8(+) T-cell and natural killer cell responses to EBV infection in these patients. We demonstrate that antibody blocking of the SAP-dependent 2B4 receptor is sufficient to induce XLP-like aggravation of EBV disease in mice with reconstituted human immune system components. CD8(+) T cells require 2B4 for EBV-specific immune control, because 2B4 blockade after CD8(+) T-cell depletion did not further aggravate symptoms of EBV infection.
Keywords: 2B4; CD8+ T cells; EBV; HIS mice; XLP disease.
© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.