Different distribution of H1-H2 Epstein-Barr virus variant in oropharyngeal virus and in biopsies of Hodgkin's disease and in nasopharyngeal carcinoma from Algeria

✍ Scribed by Makhlouf Bouzid; Marlyse Buisson; Patrice Morand; Hervé Perron; Jean-Marie Seigneurin

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 132 KB
• Volume: 77
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19980717)77:2<205::aid-ijc6>3.0.co;2-u

✦ Synopsis

In a previous study of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) strains in North African nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) biopsies, we have found that the viral strain present was of A/F/WЈ-IЈ/ Xho1kept/H1-H2 type, while the strain associated with Chinese NPC was the A/''f''/WЈIЈ/Xho1lost/H type. Using the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and PCR-RFLP methods, the present study analyzed the H1-H2 variant in different clinical samples from Algeria, including the saliva of healthy EBV-positive individuals and patients with NPC or Hodgkin's disease (HD), as well as HD biopsies and lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) established from the oropharyngeal virus-infected cells. Our results demonstrate that, in contrast to the H1-H2 variant found in NPC biopsies, the H genotype was dominant in HD biopsies. Moreover, H genotype was also dominant in the oropharynx of healthy EBV-positive individuals, of patients with NPC and with HD. Our results clearly indicate that in North Africa the EBV strain present of NPC biopsies is different from that shed in the oropharynx. This may suggest a specific distribution of the H1-H2 variant in the NPC epithelial tumor, whereas the H genotype is dominant in HD biopsies and in the oropharynx. The specific association of both viral strains with these 2 distinct diseases in North Africa may reflect a difference in tumorigenicity.