ANTIBODY AGAINST THE EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS BHRF1 PROTEIN, A HOMOLOGUE OF BCL-2, IN PATIENTS WITH NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA
Resource
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY v.56 n.3 pp.179-185
Journal
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL
Journal Volume
VIROLOGY
Journal Issue
n.3
Pages
179-185
Date Issued
1998
Date
1998
Author(s)
LIU, MEI-YING
CHEN, CHIEN-JEN
SHEEN, TZUNG-SHIAHN
YANG, CZAU-SIUNG
CHEN, JEN-YANG
Abstract
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) open reading frame BHRF1, a
homologue of the oncogene bcl-2, was cloned from a patient
with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and overexpressed in
Escherichia coli. The resulting recombinant BHRF1 fusion
protein, with an apparent molecular weight of 35 KD, was
used as antigen in an immunoblotting assay for IgG antibody
in human sera. AntiBHRF1 antibody was detected in 57 (61.3%)
of 93 patients with NPC, 5 (5.7%) of 87 patients with
nonmalignant diseases of the nasopharynx, and in 1 (1.3%) of
78 healthy blood donors. The positivity rate in these
nonmalignant patients was 4.4 times that of the normal
controls. Negative results were observed in four patients
with infectious mononucleosis and patients with other
cancers, including 4 with esophageal cancer, 1 1 with lung
cancer, 10 with lymphoma, 13 with gastric carcinoma, 10 with
cervical carcinoma, and 10 with other head and neck cancers
. Antibody neutralizing EBV DNase and IgA antibody to viral
capsid antigen (VCA) were assayed in parallel. The results
showed that 7.5% of the NPC patients were negative for anti-
DNase and anti-VCA antibodies and EBV infection could be
detected by the anti-BHRF1 antibody alone. The demonstration
of anti-BHRF1 antibody in most NPC sera strongly supports
the hypothesis that the EBV BHRF1 protein is expressed in
most NPC patients and its specific antibody can be a useful
marker for the diagnosis of NPC.
Subjects
nasopharyngeal carcinoma
anti-EBV BHRF1 antibody
SDGs
Type
journal article