Sequence analysis of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) early genes BARF1 and BHRF1 in NK/T cell lymphoma from Northern China

摘要

BackgroundNK/T cell lymphoma is an aggressive lymphoma almost always associated with EBV. BamHI-A rightward open reading frame 1 (BARF1) and BamHI-H rightward open reading frame 1 (BHRF1) are two EBV early genes, which may be involved in the oncogenicity of EBV. It has been found that V29A strains, a BARF1 mutant subtype, showed higher prevalence in NPC, which may suggest the association between this variation and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). To characterize the sequence variation patterns of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) early genes and to elucidate their association with NK/T cell lymphoma, we analyzed the sequences of BARF1 and BHRF1 in EBV-positive NK/T cell lymphoma samples from Northern China.