STAT2 and Burkitt lymphoma: However, contrary to our hypothesis, we report here that IFN-α-induced signaling, as measured by activating phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT2 and the induction of IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) expression, is not affected by EBV in BL cells that maintain Latency I. We also did not observe evidence of IFN-α/β production by EBV-infected B cells.