1. Strong correlations of anti-viral capsid antigen antibody levels in first-degree relatives from families with Epstein-Barr virus-related lymphomas.
- Author
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Besson C, Amiel C, Le-Pendeven C, Plancoulaine S, Bonnardel C, Ranque B, Abbed K, Brice P, Fermé C, Carde P, Hermine O, Raphael M, Bresson JL, Nicolas JC, Gessain A, Dethe G, and Abel L
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Biomarkers, Burkitt Lymphoma blood, Burkitt Lymphoma immunology, Cameroon, Child, Child, Preschool, Cluster Analysis, Family, Female, France, Hodgkin Disease blood, Hodgkin Disease immunology, Humans, Immunoglobulin G blood, Male, Middle Aged, Uganda, Young Adult, Antibodies, Viral blood, Antigens, Viral immunology, Burkitt Lymphoma virology, Capsid Proteins immunology, Herpesvirus 4, Human immunology, Hodgkin Disease virology
- Abstract
Background: Markers of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection include anti-viral capsid antigen (VCA) immunoglobulin (Ig) G. High anti-VCA titers are associated with EBV-related lymphoproliferation, such as Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)., Methods: Intrafamilial correlations of anti-VCA IgG levels were studied in 3 settings: 127 families recruited through patients with HL in France (population A), 31 families recruited through patients with BL in Uganda (population B), and 74 large families from a general population in Cameroon (population C). Titers were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (populations A and C) or by immunofluorescence analysis (population B)., Results: In populations A and B, the anti-VCA IgG titers of the relatives of patients with HL or BL increased significantly (P = .01 and P < .001, respectively) with those of the index case patient. In all 3 populations, anti-VCA IgG titers were significantly correlated (P < .001 for A, P = .002 for B, and P < .001 for C) between genetically related individuals (father-offspring, mother-offspring, and sibling-sibling) but not between spouses. Similar results were obtained for population A after adjustment for total IgG levels. In all cases, the pattern of correlations was consistent with a polygenic model, with heritability ranging from 0.32 to 0.48., Conclusion: These results provide evidence for the genetic control of anti-VCA IgG titers and pave the way for identification of the loci involved.
- Published
- 2009
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