Abstract

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is an extremely successful virus, infecting more than 90% of the human population worldwide. After primary infection, the virus persists for the life of the host, usually as a harmless passenger residing in B cells. However, EBV can transform B cells, which can result in the development of malignant lymphomas. Intriguingly, the three main types of EBV-associated B-cell lymphoma — that is, Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and post-transplant lymphomas — seem to derive from germinal-centre B cells or atypical survivors of the germinal-centre reaction in most, if not all, cases, indicating that EBV-infected germinal-centre B cells are at particular risk for malignant transformation.

Author affiliations

1. Institute for Genetics and Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
   Email: ralf.kuppers@uni-koeln.de