Recent Progress in the Vaccine Development Against Epstein-Barr Virus

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the first human herpesvirus identified as an oncogenic agent, with approximately 95% of adults worldwide being latently infected. EBV infection is associated with multiple diseases, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, infectious mononucleosis, and multiple sclerosis. Given significant EBV-associated disease burden, developing effective vaccines against EBV remains a priority. In this review, we first presented the current understanding of EBV biology and pathogenesis, focusing on its biological structure and immune evasion mechanisms, and discussed key viral antigens-including gp350, gp42, gH/gL, and latency proteins-as potential targets for EBV vaccine development. We also summarized recent advances in various EBV vaccine platforms, including subunit, viral vector-based, nanoparticle-based, and mRNA vaccines, and discussed the related preclinical and clinical evidence, although no effective EBV vaccine has been approved for clinical use yet. In summary, this review provides an overview of the current landscape in EBV vaccine research, and sheds new light on developing new therapeutic approaches against EBV-associated diseases.