Open AccessB cell‐derived circulating granzyme B is a feature of acute infectious mononucleosis
Author(s) -
Hagn Magdalena,
Panikkar Archana,
Smith Corey,
Balfour Henry H,
Khanna Rajiv,
Voskoboinik Ilia,
Trapani Joseph A
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
clinical and translational immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.321
H-Index - 34
ISSN - 2050-0068
DOI - 10.1038/cti.2015.10
Subject(s) - granzyme b , granzyme , perforin , mononucleosis , cytotoxic t cell , immunology , biology , virology , immune system , virus , cd8 , in vitro , biochemistry
Granzyme B (GzmB) is a serine protease best known for inducing target cell apoptosis when released by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) or natural killer cells with pore‐forming perforin. As a result, GzmB detected in the serum of virus‐infected individuals has typically been attributed to these sources. Here, we show that patients with recently diagnosed infectious mononucleosis caused by Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) have high circulating levels of GzmB that may be derived from infected B cells early in course of disease. We recently reported that human B cells from healthy donors secrete active GzmB when stimulated in vitro through B‐cell receptor (BCR) ligation and interleukin (IL)‐21. We found that infecting B cells with EBV greatly amplified GzmB secretion in response to the same stimuli, but the expression was terminated once the infection had become latent. Our results represent a rare instance of GzmB expression by non‐CTL/natural killer cells in the context of infection with a human pathogen.