DIRECT DEMONSTRATION OF PERSISTENT EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS GENE-EXPRESSIONIN PERIPHERAL-BLOOD OF INFECTED COMMON MARMOSETS AND ANALYSIS OF VIRUS-INFECTED TISSUES IN-VIVO

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in animal model systems has been st udied previously in marmosets and tamarins using serology and PCR of s aliva. Here we directly demonstrated long-term persistence of EBV in t he peripheral blood of marmosets by assaying EBER RNA expression. A ne w reverse transcription-PCR assay, able to distinguish a naturally occ urring strain polymorphism in EBER 2 that may be useful as a strain ma rker for monitoring persistence and interactions between multiple stra ins in the same animal or person, has been developed. In situ hybridiz ation and immunohistochemistry have also been used to search for EBV-i nfected cells in the animals. The carrier state in the common marmoset is similar to that of humans in that it is asymptomatic, long-lived a nd displays a very low level of circulating virus-infected cells. It d iffers from the human in lacking the characteristic antibody response to EBNA 1.