EBV Conference 2008 Guangzhou - Baylor College of Medicine

115 (RegID: 1944; 1943)
Changzhan guo
Institution: Peking University Health Science Center
e-mail: guo4626@yahoo.com.cn
PATHOGENESIS OF EBV BLLF1 GENE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LYMPHOMA IN
TRANSGENIC MICE
Chang-Zhan.Guo1* Ye-Peng Yang2 Ai-Jun Kang3 Feng Tian3 Mei Zhou2 Meng-Wei Guo1 Ying-Ni.Li1
1.Department of Immunology, 2.Department of Raiobiology,3.Department of Laborarory Animal Science,
Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100083, China
Posterabstract:
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) membrane antigen(MA) coded by EBV BLLF1 gene is a
glycoprotein(gp350/220) which binds to the receptor CD21(CR2) on host cells such as B lymphocyte, T
lymphocyte and epithelial cells initiating the infection of EBV. The binding itself can also lead to the
activation of host cells and result in a serious of signaling pathways activation. As such, it is possible that
this protein may play an important role in the pathogenesis of EBV related neoplasia. Despite this, less
attention has been paid to this protein in the study of tumorigenicity of EBV; the reason may be due to the
fact that this protein is mainly expressed in the active phase of EBV infection which lasts a short period of
time mostly. However, the latent infection of EBV can become active repeatedly during the lifelong period,
so the role of MA in the pathogenesis of EBV related diseases needs to be explored. The experiments
described here were initiated to study the pathogenesis of this protein in vivo with a transgenic mice
model carrying MA coding gene BLLF1. Transgene expression was demonstrated in tumor cells of two
founder mice which developed lymphoma at the age of 4 and 8 months respectively. After more than 25
generations of breeding, the phenotype of lymphoma is found stable. To our knowledge, this is the first
demonstration that BLLF1 gene is oncogenic in vivo suggesting that the gene product may play a direct
role in the development of lymphoma and possibly other EBV-associated malignancies.
EBV Conference 2008 Guangzhou
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