ABSTRACT
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the best known and most widely studied herpesvirus because of its clinical and oncogenic importance. It is also widely utilized as an important general model for investigating the antiviral immune response in humans because of its ubiquity in human populations, the ease with which virus-infected cells can be maintained in vitro, and the strength of the T-cell response during primary as well as persistent infection. Early interest in the immune response to EBV revolved primarily around the seroepidemiology of the virus, particularly in relation to the EBV-associated diseases. These studies exploited immunofluorescence assays that quantitatively assessed the antibody responses to various serologically defined viral antigens including viral capsid antigen (VCA), membrane antigen (MA), and Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA).
