HORMONAL MODULATION OF EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS REPLICATION

Among the various factors thought to be associated with the reactivati on of latent herpesviruses is psychological stress. An increase in lev els of 'stress hormones' such as glucocorticoids occurs in individuals who are stressed and previous studies have shown that glucocorticoid hormones can reactivate latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in vitro. In t his study, we confirm that the EBV genome in latently infected lymphob lastoid cells can be reactivated with two glucocorticoid hormones, hyd rocortisone and dexamethasone. In addition to hydrocortisone and dexam ethasone, we also found that other hormones of the hypothalamic-pituit ary-axis (corticotropin-releasing factor and adrenocorticotropin hormo ne but not epinephrine and norepinephrine) as well as somatostatin can enhance the lytic replication of the HR-1 strain of EBV in superinfec ted cells, These results suggest that multiple endocrine interactions may be involved in stress-induced reactivation/replication of latent E BV.