In acquired immunodeficiency, B-cell proliferation is usually associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), implying the impairment of the normal control of EBV and EBV-infected cells. It has been assumed that EBV infection is latent in lymphoproliferative disorders. In order to determine the type of latency and to investigate whether any lymphoproliferative disorders enter into the lytic cycle, we analyzed the expression of latent and replicative EBV genes in 9 post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) and in 23 EBV-positive AIDS-related non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (AR-NHL). The PTLD cases were categorized into polyclonal or monoclonal polymorphic tumors and monoclonal monomorphic tumors. The AR-NHL cases included large-cell/immunoblastic (LC/IB) and Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) groups. We demonstrated that varying patterns of latent-viral-gene expression are exhibited showing the 3 forms of latency. Polymorphic PTLD and LC/IB AR-NHL frequently expressed type II or III latency, whereas monomorphic tumors and BL AR-NHL showed type I latency. It is noteworthy that 3 cases of BL AR-NHL expressed latency II form. Induction of lytic cycle highlighted by the expression of BZLF1 occurred in 55.5% of PTLD, 36% of LC/IB and 22% of BL AR-NHL. In contrast, late viral proteins indicating productive cycle were present in 22% of PTLD, 14% of LC/IB, and were absent in BL cases. These data suggest that the impairment of EBV control permits disruption of latency, but the initiation of the lytic cycle may not always lead to viral production.