Helicobacter pylori-associated oxidant monochloramine induces reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in gastric epithelial cells latently infected with EBV

Abstract

To investigate the possibility of an interaction between two ubiquitous human pathogens, Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the effect of monochloramine (NH2Cl), locally produced by H. pylori infection, on gastric epithelium latently infected with EBV was examined, by assessing the induction of EBV lytic infection. AGS cells harbouring latently infected EBV were used as the indicator of lytic change caused by NH2Cl treatment. Lytic infection, determined by morphological change and EA-D antigen expression, occurred immediately after treatment with in vitro-synthesized NH2Cl. Analysis of EBV infection in human gastric tissue revealed that out of 48 H. pylori-positive patients, 24 were positive for EBER-1, and 18 and 13 were positive for EBNA1 and LMP-1 antigen, respectively. The results suggest that H. pylori-associated NH2Cl induces EBV lytic conversion in gastric epithelium latently infected with EBV.