Epstein Barr Virus: Potential Immune Selection in Associated Cancers

The EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) is expressed\nin most of the EBV-associated malignancies including\nnasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), Hodgkin's Lymphoma,\nand immunosuppression-associated lymphoma.\nhave been identified by distinguishing amino acids. We\nhave identified seven sequence variants of LMP1 that can\nbe distinguished using a heteroduplex tracking assay and\nhave determined that most healthy individuals are\ninfected with multiple strains of EBV. Striking differences\nwere found between NPC and matching blood samples\nwith one specific variant, China 1, prevalent in NPC samples\nand multiple other variants of LMP1 prevalent in the\nblood samples. The possible selection against some\nstrains appearing in the tumor was highly significant with\na p < 0.0001. Many of the LMP1 variants had changes in\npredicted HLA epitopes of various restrictions. The potential\nnegative selection of the immune system on strains\ndetected in the blood would be reflected in the striking\npredominance of the China 1 strain in the tumors. In lymphoma\nsamples, changes were also frequently detected in\nknown HLA-restricted epitopes of EBNA3A, 3B, or 3C, in\naddition to LMP1. Variation in potential immune recognition\ncould contribute to the development of EBV-associated\ndiseases in distinct populations and individuals.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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