While Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the major cause of
nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), the value of the humoral immune response to EBV
glycoproteins and NPC development remains unclear. Correlation between antiglycoprotein antibody levels, neutralization of EBV infectivity, and the risk of NPC requires systematic study. Here, we applied a cytometry-based method and
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay to measure neutralization of infectivity and antibody response to EBV
glycoproteins (gH/gL, gB, gp350, and gp42) of plasma samples from 20 NPC cases and 20 high-risk and 20 low-risk healthy controls nested within a screening cohort in Sihui, southern China. We found that NPC cases have similar plasma neutralizing activity in both B cells and epithelial cells and EBV
glycoprotein-specific
IgA and
IgG antibody levels compared with those of healthy controls. Significant correlations were observed between gH/gL
IgG and gB
IgG and the neutralizing ability against
EBV infection of epithelial cells and B cells. These results indicate that a high level of
glycoprotein antibodies may favor protection against primary
EBV infection, instead of being low-risk
biomarkers for NPC in long-term EBV-infected adults. In conclusion, this study provides novel insights into the humoral immune response to
EBV infection and NPC development, providing valuable leads for future research that is important for prevention and treatment of EBV-related diseases.IMPORTANCE Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human oncogenic gammaherpesvirus that infects over 90% of humans in the world and is causally associated with a spectrum of epithelial and B-cell
malignancies such as
nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A prophylactic
vaccine against EBV is called for, but no approved
vaccine is available yet. Therefore, EBV remains a major public health concern. To facilitate novel
vaccines and
therapeutics for NPC, it is of great importance to explore the impact of humoral immune response to EBV
glycoproteins before the development of NPC. Therefore, in this study, we systematically assessed the correlation between antiglycoprotein antibody levels, neutralization of EBV infectivity, and the risk of NPC development. These results provide valuable information that will contribute to designing effective prevention and treatment strategies for EBV-related diseases such as NPC.