Background: Junctional epithelium (JE) provides the front-line defense against pathogens invading periodontium. The breakdown of the JE barrier is the hallmark of periodontitis. Recent studies have implicated the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as one of the etiopathogenetic factors of periodontitis. EBV exhibits tropism for two target cells : B cells, where it primarily remains latent, and epithelial cells, where viral replication occurs.

Objective: Our knowledge of junctional epithelial cell (JEC) infection with EBV has been limited by the difficulty of generating cell cultures and the inability to infect JECs readily.

Design: To study EBV infection in JECs, we developed human JEC cultures derived from a periodontitis patient. Furthermore, we established a successful contact-free co-culture infection model between the EBV-donor B95-8 cell line and the EBV-permissive JEC culture. JECs and EBV infection of JECs were detected using immunofluorescent staining of cytokeratin 19 and EBNA1, respectively. In addition, EBV infection was confirmed by RT-qPCR for EBNA1, LMP1, and BZLF1 expression.

Results And Conclusions: Our results suggest that the infection of JECs with EBV can occur in an experimental model. These outcomes have the potential to enhance our understanding of EBV's involvement in periodontitis and advance periodontal research.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10769119PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20002297.2023.2301199DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

ebv infection
12
infection jecs
12
epstein-barr virus
8
junctional epithelial
8
epithelial cell
8
cell cultures
8
jecs ebv
8
infection
7
ebv
7
jecs
5

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!