A 2D COS study of lymphocytes in the course of infectious mononucleosis

Abstract Activation of lymphocytes during contact with the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) was studied. The lymphocytes were obtained from patients treated due to the acute phase of infectious mononucleosis in the Jagiellonian University Hospital in Krakow. The changes in the averaged Raman spectra of the lymphocytes during their treatment, on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 9th and 12th day of hospitalization, were analyzed using the 2D-COS method. The most interesting activation marker was the Raman band at 520 cm−1 attributed to the formation of immunoglobulins. This band does not occur in the control group samples. The 2D-COS analysis revealed some additional details of lymphocyte activation. In the 2D synchronous maps, the greatest changes occur for auto-peaks at 2929 cm−1, due to the CH vibrations in the methyl groups of lipids and proteins, at 1638 cm−1, corresponding to the changes in α -helix amide I, 1585 cm−1 corresponding to nucleic acids and some amino acids, Trp, Phe and Gln, indicating cell remodeling. 2D synchronous maps monitor the formation of a receptor complex, as a subsequent functional lymphocyte maturation. 2D asynchronous maps point to the B-cell development towards immune response, i.e., the formation of immunoglobulins.