Sequence variants of LMP1 oncogene in patients with oral cavity tumors associated and not associated with Epstein-Barr virus

Abstract

The role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), ubiquitous lymphotropic human herpesvirus 4, in etiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been completely clarified. The mechanism of carcinogenesis in this disease (closely associated with EBV) is also unclear. The aim of the present study was to compare the structure of the LMP1 oncogene of EBV in isolates of the virus obtained from patients with two types of oral cavity tumors, including (a) associated (NPC) and (b) not associated (other tumors of the same anatomical region, OTOC) with EBV. A comparative analysis of the deductive C-terminal amino acid sequences of the LMP1 variants was carried out based on the LMP1 sequence data from samples of the tumor, blood, and oropharynx lavages from patients with NPC and OTOC. It was demonstrated that, in the compared groups of patients, all structural characteristics of LMP1 were close, and existing differences between the compared parameters were statistically insignificant. Thus, it was demonstrated for the first time that genetically related EBV strains with structurally similar LMP1 variants persist in patients with NPC and OTOC in Russia, which most likely reflects the polymorphism of EBV strains that circulate in the population. Based on the data obtained, it is possible to assume that the risk of the occurrence of NPC in NPC non-endemic world regions (including Russia) depends not so much on the EBV strain (and on the variant of the LMP1 that it contains) as on the genetic predisposition to the disease of individuals infected by this virus and the effect of other (still unknown) agents.