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Updated: Jul 2, 2026
Establishment of Epstein-Barr Virus Growth-transformed Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines
Published on: November 8, 2011
PD-1 and PD-L1 gene expressions and their association with Epstein-Barr virus infection in chronic lymphocytic
M A Gamaleldin1, O M Ghallab2, E A Nadwan2
1Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt. marwa.gamal@alexmed.edu.eg.
Purpose:
The PD-1 (programmed cell death-1) receptor is expressed on the surface of activated T cells. Its ligand, programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1), is expressed on the surface of dendritic cells or macrophages. The PD-1/PD-L1 interaction ensures prevention of autoimmunity by activating the immune system only when needed. In cancers, PD-L1 expressed on the tumour cells binds to PD-1 receptors on the activated T cells, leading to inhibition of the cytotoxic T cells and immunosuppression. PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is upregulated in EBV infection that is known to worsen the CLL prognosis. Therefore, we aimed to study the association between PD-1 and PD-L1 expressions, EBV status and the CLL prognosis.
Methods And Patients:
The study was conducted on 80 newly diagnosed CLL patients and 80 controls. We analyzed PD-1 and PD-L1 expressions and EBV-DNA load by real-time PCR. The cytogenetic abnormalities and expression of ZAP70 and CD38 were detected by FISH and Flow cytometry, respectively.
Results:
PD-1/PD-L1 expressions were significantly upregulated in CLL patients compared to controls. In addition, their mRNA levels were significantly higher in EBV( +) versus EBV( -) patients. High expression of PD-1/PD-L1 was associated with poor prognostic markers (RAI stages of CLL, del 17p13, ZAP70, and CD38 expression), failure of complete remission, shorter progression-free survival, and overall survival.
Conclusion:
High expression of PD-1 and PD-L1, together with high EBD-DNA load were linked to worse prognosis in CLL. In addition, PD-1 and PD-L1 might represent suitable therapeutic targets for patients suffering from aggressive CLL.
