Gavin Duggan

Epstein-Barr virus infects an estimated 95 percent of adults. Infection is often silent, then lifelong. The virus causes mononucleosis and is associated with several cancers and with multiple sclerosis. Chhan and colleagues at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and the University of Washington report in Cell Reports Medicine that monoclonal antibodies raised against two EBV envelope proteins can block infection in mice that carry human immune cells. The targets were gp350, which helps the particle bind B cells, and gp42, which participates in fusion and entry. Transgenic mice that produce human antibody genes were immunized with those proteins. Ten antibodies were isolated, two against gp350 and eight against gp42. In a humanized-mouse challenge, one gp42 antibody prevented infection. One gp350 antibody gave partial protection. Structural work on the binding sites is offered as a map for vaccine design as well as for passive antibody use. A practical setting the authors emphasize is transplantation. Immunosuppression that prevents graft rejection also weakens control of EBV. Unchecked proliferation of infected B cells can produce post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease and lymphoma. Children who have not yet met the virus are a group in which prevention would matter most. The data do not show clearance of established latency, prevention of cancer, or prevention of multiple sclerosis in people. They show that a human-sequence antibody can stop primary infection in a mouse model that contains human lymphoid tissue. Safety studies and clinical trials remain ahead. [Chhan, C. B., et al. (2026). Transgenic mouse-derived human monoclonal antibodies targeting EBV gp350 and gp42 provide basis for therapeutic development. Cell Reports Medicine, 7(2), 102618. DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102618]