Abstracts (complete list) - Wissenschaft Online

Birgit Weinberger, Ilka Weiskirchner, Beatrix Grubeck-Loebenstein
Influence of latent infection with Cytomegalovirus on Epstein-
Barr viral parameters in healthy elderly individuals: possible
interaction of different herpesviruses in immunosenescence
Latent infection with CMV leads to acceleration and enhancement of age-related
immunological changes. The influence of other herpesviruses like Epstein-Barr virus
(EBV) on immunosenescence seems to be less pronounced. Presumably, there are also
interactions between different herpesviruses and the corresponding immune responses
in the elderly.
Antibody titers and viral load in whole blood were analyzed for CMV and EBV in 233
healthy elderly donors (>60 years) and EBV-parameters were compared in CMV-positive
and CMV-negative individuals.
We could show that EBV-DNA load in whole blood is significantly higher in CMV-positive
elderly individuals and that slightly elevated DNA-levels are seen almost exclusively in
CMV-positive persons. A positive correlation of titers of EBV-specific antibodies with EBV-
DNA load was only observed in CMV-positive elderly donors. No such correlation was
observed in the CMV-negative cohort.
We conclude that EBV-infection is less controlled by the cellular immune response in
elderly individuals with latent CMV-infection.