A three-dimensional Air-Liquid Interface Culture Model for the Study of Epstein-Barr virus Infection in the Nasopharynx

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is ubiquitous in humans and is associated with the cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma. EBV replicates in the differentiated layers of stratified keratinocytes but whether the other cell types of the airway epithelium are susceptible to EBV is unknown. Here, we demonstrate with primary nasopharyngeal cells grown at the air-liquid interface that the pseudostratified epithelium can be susceptible to EBV infection and we report that susceptible cell types with distinct EBV transcription profiles can be identified by single-cell RNA-sequencing. Although EBV infection in the nasopharynx has evaded detection in asymptomatic carriers, these findings demonstrate that EBV latent and lytic infection can occur in the cells of the nasopharyngeal epithelium.