A gene expression signature that correlates with CD8+T cell expansion in acute Epstein-Barr virus infection

Acute infectious mononucleosis (AIM) is associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. We explored molecular mechanisms regarding the expression of CD8+T cells in convalescence stage (CONV). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by analyzing GEO expression profiles. Subsequently, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Protein-Protein Interactions (PPI) network, and gene-micro RNAs networks were used to identify hub genes and associated pathways. GSEA provided evidence that the top 3 gene sets in GSEA were all related to integrins. We identified ten hub genes in the PPI network and DGIdb was applied to predict potential targets that might reverse the expression of hub genes. Our study enhances a mechanistic understanding of the CD8+T cells expansion in acute EBV infection and provides potential treatment targets for further research. Keywords: acute infectious mononucleosis; bioinformatics; CD8+T cells; differentially expressed genes; EBV.