Impaired late suppression of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-induced immunoglobulin synthesis: a common feature of autoimmune disease.

We examined regulation of Epstein-Barr virus-induced plaque-forming cell generation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from several autoimmune and seronegative diseases and correlated these results with Epstein-Barr virus-induced proliferation. We confirmed the defective regulation of Epstein-Barr virus-induced plaque-forming cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with seronegative arthropathies and chronic infective inflammation (cystic fibrosis) had normal regulation of Epstein-Barr virus-induced plaque-forming cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from rheumatoid arthritis had excessive plaque-forming cell generation in the face of a normally regulated decrease in Epstein-Barr virus-induced proliferation. In contrast, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from scleroderma had defective suppression of both Epstein-Barr virus-induced proliferation and plaque-forming cell generation. Thus, impaired regulation of Epstein-Barr virus-induced plaque-forming cell generation is a common feature of autoimmune disease and demonstrates some specificity for these disorders.