ABSTRACT
Recent data by Mayet et al. (15) lend credence to this hypothesis. These investigators showed that human B cells from patients with autoimmune diseases such as Wegener's granulomatosis and SLE could be transformed by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in vitro with subsequent production of large quantities of disease-specific autoantibodies (C-ANCA in Wegener's and anti-DNA in SLE). We have recently observed two patients (one Wegener's and one SLE) in whom high levels of EBV DNA was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by virus-specific PCR during disease relapse. Each relapse was associated with a marked increase in C-ANCA and anti-DNA antibody levels and clinical disease manifestations. EBV DNA was not detected when these patients were in remission.
